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Chapter 632 Ruan Xiangjiang’s Struggle
Annam Da Nang, Daming Naval Base. Ruan Xiangjiang and Huang Nanping were sitting on the balcony of the newly built three-story building, looking at the armed cargo ships gathering in the harbor, drinking sweet and delicious iced cocoa tea, with smiles on their faces.

Huang Nanping just returned from Luzon last month, accompanied by twelve armed cargo ships and more than a thousand Nguyen mercenaries. In just less than four months, more than 300 of the 3,000 Annan mercenaries were killed in the battle, more than 200 were seriously injured with broken arms and legs, and more than 800 were slightly injured and could continue to fight on the battlefield after a few months.

If you want to ask where such heavy casualties came from, you don’t have to ask. It was done by the natives of Luzon Island. The Annan soldiers, who are also familiar with the tropical rainforest environment, are equipped with rattan armor, leather armor, crossbows, and steel knives. Faced with the Luzon indigenous tribes who only have bamboo arrows, bone arrows, and a small number of steel knives, frontal combat is basically difficult. It was a crushing attack, and the casualties mainly came from sneak attacks and ambushes.

Sometimes when walking in the rain forest, a few feather arrows will fly over, and they are also poisonous. If they get hit, they will basically die. Especially when camping in the wild, you are most vulnerable to attacks by indigenous people.

Those guys who are barefoot and string leaves together as clothes are as nimble as monkeys in the rain forest. They are elusive and can walk as fast as flying in the middle of the night. Moreover, there is no need for supplies and logistics, so we can eat wherever we go.

In rainforest areas where the topography is too complex, the Marine Guards are too constrained. Looking at the trees a few meters away, I couldn't find the target at all. No matter how powerful the musket is, it is in vain. On the contrary, a short gun that is easy to carry and fire is more practical.

And long-distance marching in the tropical rain forest is even more of a nightmare. You can't go very far every day without the indigenous people attacking you. If you don't pay attention, you will get lost. When I looked up, I couldn't see the sun, moon, or stars. The sextant was completely useless, and there was no map.

Of course, terrain alone is not enough to completely make up for the huge gap in technology, and Huang Nanping has no intention of wiping out all the indigenous tribes in the rainforest. He just used the city of Manila as the center of the circle and used the river as a blood vessel to attack radially in all directions. Find tribes with larger populations and use force and interests to force them to cooperate with the new occupiers.

Then they built fortresses on limited water and land transportation routes and sent mercenaries to garrison them, cutting off the connections between local tribes, restricting their activity areas, and compressing their living space.

Any tribe that is willing to cooperate with the Ming army can obtain identity recognition by registering its territory, be allowed to produce and live within a certain range, and receive some benefits, such as food, cloth, and agricultural tools. Those who are unwilling to cooperate will be able to live in peace for the time being as long as they don't cause trouble and stay away from the territory of the Ming army.

Choosing a hostile tribe will only lead to massacre by Annan mercenaries. The casualty rate is relatively low. In the face of a large-scale and organized army, the tribal armed forces of the indigenous people are far from being able to resist the invasion. At most, they will add some costs to the invaders.

The mercenaries are very busy, and the naval and marine guards are not idle either. Luzon is only one of the important cities of the Spanish in the Philippines. In addition, they also occupied many islands such as Palawan, Mindoro, and Cebu in the south, and built churches, ports, and military camps on them.

Although the navy currently does not have enough manpower to scan every island, Huang Nanping does not want to give the local Spaniards or tribal chiefs the illusion of being unable to do what they want.

So he personally led the navy guards and land guards to visit the islands one by one, and first told the local indigenous chiefs that the Spanish were driven away by troops sent by the Ming Dynasty. Those who are willing to hand over Spanish missionaries and soldiers will be friends in the future. If not...

We went up to catch them ourselves, burned down the village, arrested the villagers, and killed as few people as possible without increasing casualties. This is the advice of His Majesty the Emperor. He said that people are precious and equal, regardless of high or low. Since the family members of Ming Dynasty prisoners can go to factories and mines to wash away their sins through labor, why can't the natives of Luzon do the same? They made a mistake and mistrusted the Spaniards, but they still had to be given a chance to change their ways.

Hearing this, Huang Nanping's heart kept churning, "Renjun!" When I was a pirate, why didn't I come up with such a noble reason? I only knew how to rob ships and kill people. As a result, I was called a pirate, like a rat crossing the street, and everyone shouted at me to beat him.

After all, these people who were robbed are sinners. The purpose of robbing them and killing them is to urge them to confess their sins and forgive their sins, and they are teachers of justice. Saying this seems to make things smoother, I feel much more comfortable, and I feel more motivated.

They say that reading is of little use, but I dare not think so. Just look at the ideas that scholars come up with and you will know whether it is useful or not. If there were no scholars to advise the emperor, wouldn’t the navy turn into pirates again?

"I have read your Majesty's decree. I will not thank you for your kindness. The second batch of Annan soldiers has been assembled, but the number is not enough. The Li clan in the north launched a large-scale attack on the Hengshan defense line before the rainy season. "We have to continue to increase our troops and are a bit stretched. I hope Commander Huang will be considerate."

Looking at the rows of stretchers being carried down on the pier, Ruan Xiangjiang had the joy of victory on his face, but his heart was bleeding. The Ming Dynasty's attack on Luzon had nothing to do with the Ruan court, but most of the casualties were the children of Annan. In addition to some armor, weapons, gold, silver and jewelry, they got hundreds of corpses and mutilated people.

And it was not a one-time thing. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty sent another letter, stating that he needed the Ruan family court to send another 5000 mercenaries to follow Huang Nanping to Luzon to quell the rebellion. It was obvious that he wanted to use the lives of Annan children to consolidate the territory of Ming Dynasty.

Even though I know it’s a trap, I still can’t help but jump. Otherwise, Huang Nanping would become a guest of Thang Long Mansion in the next life. The mercenaries who went to Luzon to suppress the rebellion would still be the sons of Annan, but they would change from the Ruan family's private soldiers to the Li family's private soldiers. Then the Ruan family will change from strategic initiative to passive, and whether they can maintain the Hengshan defense line is a question.

According to the wishes of the Ming Emperor, in addition to continuing to receive armor, weapons and trophies, the second batch of mercenaries will also be exchanged for Luzon natives at a ratio of two to one. It doesn't take much effort to figure out the origins of these Luzon natives who were sent to Annan. They must be all thorns in the Ming Dynasty's navy.

It is indeed a good idea to move them to another place and let the Nguyen family manage them. People are humble when they leave their hometown, and their temper will not be so bad when they are in a strange environment. They have to do whatever they are told.

It's just that the Ming Emperor's calculation was too shrewd. He used Annan soldiers to fight the war, and then used the natives in the occupied areas as rewards.

But I understand, but I can't say it on the surface, let alone express my dissatisfaction. Since the soldiers must be given, let's find a way to mention it in terms of price. This is all I can do at the moment.

(End of this chapter)