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Chapter 1022 The weasel pays New Year greetings to the chicken

The Battle of the Cape of Good Hope lasted a total of four days, from the exchange of fire to the surrender of the Spanish flagship. The Ming Empire fleet, which came from afar, defeated the joint fleet composed of England and Spain at the cost of losing a Guangzhou-class armed cargo ship and 4 casualties despite being outnumbered.

Including the two flagships, a total of 11 enemy ships were sunk, 6 were captured, and more than 700 sailors and soldiers were captured. At the same time, the Marine Corps Commander Yuhengwei led the Cosa Cavalry to raid the Zhuowan Wharf, defeating the English and Spanish army and craftsmen entrenched there, killing more than 300 enemies and capturing more than 800.

"Keep it. Since the Xhosa people have learned how to hunt whales, you can use this place as a port for whaling ships. Don't be afraid of being used by the enemy. Be confident in your own strength. With Enniao Port, no matter how many enemies come from the sea, you can hold out for more than three months.

The Xhosa can be an ally on land. Although their cavalry lacks muskets and artillery, no one in this land has yet been able to completely defeat them. Even if the Imperial Army is sent, it will cost a great deal. "

On the unfinished wooden pier in Table Bay, Hong Tao politely met with one of the Xhosa chiefs. The two sides embraced each other warmly and gave each other gifts.

Hong Tao received a huge necklace made of shells, animal bones, gemstones, natural gold nuggets and feathers. Yan Bu Si said that this was the most noble gift from the Xhosa people, and holding this necklace could gain trust among all the Xhosa people.

Since the other party was so honest, Hong Tao couldn't be too cunning and just find a few swords to send him away. But he came in a hurry and didn't bring any gifts with him. What should he do?

200 sets of armor, 300 matchlock rifles and flintlock rifles, and a batch of armor and weapons in relatively good condition were selected from the spoils as return gifts.

This is not the end. Having a musket is useless if you don’t know how to use it. Therefore, the Kosa leader needs to carefully select 300 young and strong men from the tribe and hand them over to the Ming Marine Guards in Enniao Port for training.

"Remember, training them to use and maintain muskets and familiarize them with tactics is secondary. The key is to guide them to the Ming Dynasty. Don't worry about how to do it. After I return to Beijing, I will instruct the Navy Staff to formulate a plan for the Xhosa armed forces and send people to assist."

Can Hong Tao tolerate an increasingly powerful armed force that is out of control in faraway southern Africa? The answer is definitely no. He did this to temporarily solve the land defense problem for Enniao Port and to set a trap for the Xhosa people, taking the opportunity to send officers to participate in the management of the Xhosa armed forces in the name of guidance.

In the future, the officers of the Xhosa people will all be students of the officers of the Ming Dynasty, so it will be much easier for them to get along with each other. It is too early to consider whether they will eventually establish a country independently or be attached to the Ming Empire.

Moreover, the Xhosa people don't seem to have any ideas in this regard. They are still in the tribal social model. Although they are all Xhosa people, they are divided into hundreds of tribes and live in different areas. There is no particularly clear subordinate relationship between them.

When foreign enemies attacked, they gathered together temporarily to resist; when they needed to go out to fight, each tribe would send some young and strong people. If they won, they would divide the captured prisoners, livestock and territory; if they lost, they would go home and endure. There was no political system or economic model, and even farming was learned from the Enniao Port garrison over the years.

It's good to maintain the status quo for now. The development of Enniao Port is not the most urgent issue at the moment. The north of the empire is not peaceful either. Compared with the Battle of the Cape of Good Hope, there is a real war there. Hong Tao must hurry back to the capital and decide what to do next based on the results of the war.

"These three warships will be temporarily assigned to the Enniao Port garrison fleet. Sister Ji will redeploy the warships for rotation after she returns. You did a good job before, and your performance in leading the squadron this time is also top-notch. Don't be proud, keep a normal mind, and focus on stability.

I will leave the matter of the local chief's daughter to you. Don't be in a hurry and take your time to find one. You must find someone you like and who can't be too young. When you have news, just write a report to me directly, and there is no need to report it to the higher authorities."

Hong Tao only stayed in Zhuowan for one night, and the next day he set off on his return journey with the remaining warships of the rescue fleet. Before leaving, he specially called Yan Bu Si to the ship and whispered to him. He privately gave Yan Bu Si a top-secret mission, to find a young woman of the right age in the family of the leader of the Xhosa tribe to become a candidate for the imperial concubine. Although there is no finalized plan so far, it is not a bad thing to marry a Xhosa woman first.

If the Europeans want to deny the status of Enniao Port in legal terms in the future, my identity as a son-in-law of the Xhosa people will be the most powerful evidence. Do I need other people's consent to build a port on my father-in-law's land?
Who dares to bully the Xhosa people? They are all relatives of the emperor of the empire. The emperor of the empire has legitimate rights of inheritance to their territory, and their rank is quite high.

If you don't believe me, go ask the Pope. If that old man dares to say no, the Ming Empire will immediately not recognize the legitimacy of all European countries, and merchant ships that dare to enter Asia will be treated as pirates. Why can you inherit the fiefdom but I can't? Isn't this obviously unreasonable!

"Your Excellency the Duke of Buckingham, you should know who I am. As a colleague, I think it is necessary to give Charles I some pertinent suggestions.

The first is Parliament. I heard that many decisions of the king must be approved by Parliament before they can be passed. Your king dissolved Parliament, which is a very wise decision. England finally got rid of the Pope after years of struggle. If it was constrained by Parliament again, why did it fight for power with the church in the first place?

As an emperor, I strongly support Charles I's dissolution of Parliament. It is the king's power to manage the country and make decisions. Although a system like the United Provinces Republic only requires consuls, it is a small country after all, and the situation is very special. It should not be used as a model.

Secondly, regarding this dispute, I intentionally do not call it a war, as that would leave a lot of room for maneuver and would not be good for the Ming Empire and the Kingdom of Britain.

According to Governor Cohen's introduction, I roughly understand the intention of your country and Spain to jointly attack Porto Enniao. To put it bluntly, it's just one word, money. Your king is short of money, and part of the kingdom's financial power is controlled by the parliament. Now they are resentful and unwilling to take out money to support their king.

I understand this very well. Thirty years ago, when I first ascended the throne, I faced a similar situation. I had neither financial power nor military power, and I had few ministers who could be used. All around me were people with ulterior motives.

But thirty years later, not only did I not fall, but I became the only emperor in the Ming Empire who had the power to decide anything. Although the process was difficult and even dangerous, it was still worth it.

I hope that Charles I can also be firm in his faith, overcome numerous difficulties, forge ahead courageously, and finally realize his ideals and goals. Faith is like a lighthouse of the soul, guiding us forward in darkness and confusion. We can lose everything, but faith remains forever!
However, sometimes it is inevitable to go astray. For example, rashly becoming an enemy of the Ming Empire for money is a very, very bad move. The reason is simple: the Ming Empire's maritime strength is fully capable of protecting commercial interests.

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The Duke should have seen the specific performance. This time, only a small fleet of the Imperial Navy was dispatched. I just happened to be traveling on a warship to visit overseas territories. After hearing that Enniao Port was attacked, I came to take a look out of curiosity. You can get the truth about this from Governor Cohen.

I have no objection to making money through Asian products, but you must follow the rules of the Ming Empire and not mess around. I welcome your country to send envoys to the Ming Empire to discuss this matter. Any request can be put on the table for discussion. Don't use force. This will not happen again!
The Duke will follow my fleet back to the port of Batavia, where he will be accommodated and entertained by Governor Cohen, and wait for the right time to return to Europe on a merchant ship of the United Provinces East India Company.

During this period, if you are willing to visit Ming Dynasty, I will also welcome you. You can ask Governor Cohen to convey it. In addition, I will prepare a gift for your king, which is equivalent to an interest-free loan of 20,000 pounds.

With this money, he should have more confidence in his struggle with Parliament. Don't think too much about it. This is a private loan from an emperor to a king. There is no interest or repayment date, and no specific purpose. I don't want to see any king or emperor lose the privileges given by God, even if he is my enemy! "

The fleet had just left Table Bay. After holding a post-war summary meeting with the captains and staff of each ship, Hong Tao cleaned himself up a little in the cabin, changed into a brand new marshal's uniform, and appeared in the cabin next to Governor Cohen.

(End of this chapter)