Dragon Sea Empire

At the end of the 41st year of Wanli, the Ministry of War asked for a strict sea ban, and the Ministry of War said: "The ban on sea trafficking has been repeatedly ordered, but there are still people who do it without scruples. Check their disks. Although they are not Japanese goods, they are suspicious of escaping. They should go to their original place." The yamen arrests and interrogates, and passes through the coastal navy guards under its jurisdiction, and the soldiers and civilians are prohibited from going out of the ocean privately, and they are prospering and selling Japanese, causing quarrels."

Emperor Wanli approved his proposal from the deep palace. In the first month of 42 years, the imperial court's statement reiterating the sea ban was spread all over the coastal areas of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, and most officials from all over the place smiled wryly.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month in the 42nd year of Wanli, Wu Yongxian, the governor of Sichuan, claimed victory to the imperial court: the Yuanshan, Tuolang, Tongcao, and Shuhui in Jianchang, Sichuan, revolted, and Liu Ting, the commander-in-chief, took two years to kill the people with a total population of less than [-]. Fanren calmed down.

On the same day, the frontier soldiers in Zunhua, Jimen, and Yongping had been in arrears of payment for more than half a year, and could hardly survive, so they finally staged a mutiny.

But a few days later, in the last few days of the first lunar month, people in Hebei, Henan and other places were harassed by government servants and eunuchs who measured the land for King Fu, making the whole place restless. When leaving Beijing, Fu Wang and his party had 24 ships and 170 soldiers, several times more than before. Fu Wang spent more than 100 taels on his marriage, and nearly 30 taels of Luoyang palace, which was also ten times the normal system. This money is enough to feed tens of thousands of soldiers. Fuwang Zhuangtian originally planned for 30 hectares, but after the courtiers fought hard, they actually gave [-] hectares. The land spans Henan, Shandong, and Huguang provinces. In the name of measuring the acres of land, a large number of people were sent to harass Henan, Shandong, Huguang and other places. At the request of King Fu, Zhang Juzheng's land confiscated by the court and miscellaneous taxes along the river from Yangzhou, Jiangsu to Wuhu, Anhui and other places along the river and Sichuan were confiscated. The salt and tea silver from the province were used by King Fu’s mansion, and an official store was opened outside Chongwenmen in Beijing for the exclusive use of King Fu’s mansion. The original salt from Henan’s east river was changed to salt from Huai and Yang, and a store was set up in Luoyang to monopolize the whole province’s salt. As a result, the salt in the east of the river was hindered, and the border salary was dwindling. When King Fu was leaving, Shenzong also gave King Fu all the rare treasures donated by the tax envoys and mine supervisors over the years, and he escorted the official school along the way. The horizontal rope killed people, and the people along the way complained endlessly.

And completely different from the Ming Dynasty, which was basically not doing business properly, the Chinese company is fighting for the Chinese to expand their overseas territories in Luzon.

In the last few days of the first month, War Island at the mouth of Manila Bay has been on high alert. However, the heavy fog in the early morning of this day prevented the garrison troops on the island from observing the movements in the southern waters of the island. War Island and Corregidor Island lie across At the mouth of Manila Bay, less than ten miles from Mariveles on the northern coast of the bay, and 30 miles from the southern coast of the bay, the Spanish fleet clinging to the southern coast of the mouth of Manila Bay, in the dark before dawn, in the fog Under cover, they sneaked into Manila Bay.

The southern part of Manila Bay, except for Cavite, is mostly undeveloped and is the territory of the indigenous people. Therefore, there are no Chinese patrols along the coast at night. At the same time, the Spanish fleet has sailors who have been to Manila many times and are familiar with the terrain and waterways. , which is also one of the factors that allowed them to sneak in successfully.

The Spanish fleet was not discovered by Chinese patrol ships until Cavite.

Near the Cavite shipyard, dozens of fast boats and gunboats attacked the Spanish fleet, but because they were unable to fight against the Spanish five giant ships with an average of more than 50 guns, the facilities of the Cavite shipyard were bombarded.

The Chinese Navy Navy Fleet has already assembled five main warships and twenty gunboats in Manila Bay, and there are hundreds of other small ships.

The Spanish fleet enters Manila Bay to fight the Chinese fleet. This is what naval generals Mai Dahai, Ye Hua and others are looking forward to. However, what they did not expect is that the Spanish fleet is so bold that it dares to fight against the Chinese fleet in foggy days and dark nights. Crossing the waterway at the mouth of Manila Bay.

What the Chinese army did not expect was that the Spanish troop carrier ventured out of the cover of the warship and went north after crossing the waterway south of War Island. The Spanish warship's attack on Cavite was actually deliberately attracting the main force of the Chinese fleet. Come to fight, divert them away from other parts of Manila Bay, and create conditions for the landing of infantry troops.

……

Yin Feng slept on the ground with his personal guards in the North Fort at night. Since the North Fort was built on the land of Qiao’s family in Shanxi, it was delayed until the Spaniards first attacked Cebu before it took shape. Therefore, the soldiers’ dormitory Not enough beds.

Yin Feng was used to running around in the past, and he didn't care about the details of life.

In the morning, when Yin Feng was woken up by the captain of the guard, Lin Yue, most of the brothers around him had already sat up sleepily, whispering to each other about something.

"How come, what's the matter?"

Jin Mingyu, the first sentry chief of the third battalion of the second regiment of the first brigade, hurried over: "My lord, my lord Qianhu, the Qianla army has appeared in the west,"

Yin Feng was quite surprised, he stood up quickly, and took the telescope handed by Lin Xiao: "Go up the city wall, when did you find it?"

Everyone in the fortress had already woken up, and they were hurriedly arranging equipment and ammunition. They were busy but not in a hurry. Yin Feng climbed up the tower of the fortress, and he could see the west view clearly without binoculars.

In the distance, on a large plain leading to the sea, a troop spread for several miles and was slowly approaching the front of the northern fortress.

This army is flying several flags with crosses on a white background. It is the Royal Spanish Army.

"An hour ago, we received a firework signal from the guard post north of the Pasig River, and then we didn't receive any signal again. The enemy should have landed on the coast near Tondo, bypassed the swamp and came to Here, otherwise the San Diego Castle will definitely issue a warning," Yin Feng immediately made a judgment, and he turned to Jin Mingyu and said, "Have you issued a warning to Manila?"

Before the words were finished, "Whoosh," a rocket rose into the sky in the south of the castle, and exploded, bursting out thousands of stars, but it was daytime, and the effect of the fireworks was not obvious, so the beacon smoke at the highest part of the castle fort was also set on fire.

"Chief Golden Whistle, your troops enter the front line, Zhuang Ding's second line is the loader, and my guards are the reserve team. Get ready for battle,"

Jin Mingyu opened his mouth wide: "My lord, it's dangerous here, you can't stay here, please hurry back to Manila City,"

Yin Feng ignored him, holding up his binoculars to observe the west side.

"boom,"

The sound of artillery was heard from Fort Santiago on the south bank of the Pasig River in the distance. It was the Chinese defenders of Fort Santiago who had spotted the enemy and were warning.

"My lord, you can't..."

Yin Feng waved his hand and interrupted Jin Mingyu's speech: "I have never run away before a battle, and now I still have time to quickly organize the evacuation of the labor coolies, and withdraw from the ferry back to Manila. At the same time, I will send a personal guard to go with your messengers." The old battalion in the south of Manila sent an order that all the troops of the first brigade should be transferred, and we will block the Ganla people at the northern fortress,..."

"My lord," Jin Mingyu nodded; if Yin Feng insisted on staying with him, he would bear too much responsibility.

"Going to the Pasig River Ferry is the narrowest section of the Pasig River. From the north fortress to the west and north, you can reach the territory of the Pampanga people. The Guanla people and the Pampanga people should not have the opportunity to unite. Arise, Chief Golden Whistle, and prepare for battle,"

The coastline of Tondo is less than ten miles away from the North Fort in a straight line, but Tondo is full of swamps. Ten years ago, it was a refuge for the rebel Chinese to avoid the Spanish army. Therefore, the Spanish army's troop carrier boldly broke away from the cover of the fleet and moved swiftly. After landing in Tondo, it took two hours to circumnavigate the swamp and reach the plains north of the Pasig River.

Right now, a total of more than 3000 Spanish regular troops, including some Indians and black auxiliaries, are deployed one mile away from the northern fortress. A total of 1 Germanic mercenaries, Swiss spearmen, and pirates from various countries quickly detoured to the north of the fortress. The 1000 Native American troops marched towards the Pasig River Ferry south of the fort.

……

At noon, the northern fortress suddenly burst into loud noises, ten cannons fired at the same time, and the Spanish army in front also fired, and the sound of the artillery moved the entire city of Manila.

All the troops in the Neihu barracks had been mobilized, the gates of the four barracks were wide open, and heavily armed soldiers of the Chinese army were marching hastily.

Zhao Tie rode on a horse, stood on the side of the road and kept looking at his troops, urging anxiously: "Brothers, hurry up, the Ganguanla people have landed, let's drive them into the sea now, hurry up," the red uniform The supervising officer looked to the north, where the guns were rumbling, and he said anxiously to Zhao Tie: "The news that the Ganguanla people entered Manila Bay came three hours ago, and now they have arrived at the northern fortress. The action is really fast." ,"

……

A guard of Yin Feng in black and red belt rushed into the north gate of Manila on a fast horse, followed by a Chinese infantry soldier in black and a helmet with a chicken feather on his helmet, showing his identity as a messenger.

The soldiers guarding the gate were building temporary fortifications in the city gate, and rushed forward to stop the two of them, muttering: "The ship owner has ordered that anyone who enters or exits the city gate during a war must have a certificate,"

The personal guard blushed and was drenched in water. He rode on the horse and shouted: "Stop talking nonsense, brother, the time is urgent. The captain is surrounded by the Qianla people in the northern fortress. Let me report the news."

The soldier guarding the gate was speechless in astonishment, and the personal guard rode on his horse, rushed past him, and went straight into the city.

……

Li Lihua rushed out of the yard, pulled the little white horse that Yin Feng gave her, and was about to get on the horse while stepping on the stirrups. Magaro grabbed her and said in a begging tone: "Madam, don't go, I will just go Take the guards across the river to rescue the captain, don’t worry, the captain will be fine, "

Li Lihua bit her lip and did not answer.

Zeng Jingshan came in a hurry and saw Li Lihua standing in front of the little white horse. He immediately understood what she wanted to do. He stepped forward and pulled the rein and said, "I have issued a martial law in the city. Many foreign businessmen are attending Sunday services in churches. They are very panicked." , I need your help,"

Li Lihua sighed, nodded, looked at Ma Jialuo and said, "Uncle Ma, please."

Magaro gathered his black guards and led them to the north gate.

……

The Spanish army's rush into Manila Bay this time was a desperate gamble. The previous series of attacks on various parts of the Luzon coastline were indeed the Spaniards collecting supplies.

Fort Agana on Guam is extremely strong, the defenders can't stand it, well-prepared, there are many firearms and they don't spare ammunition. Commander Fonseca, fleet commander Lord Juan, and army commander General Mariello discussed again and again and decided to Collect supplies as much as possible in Guam, and then set off to attack Luzon without entanglement with Agana Castle.

The initial plan of the Spaniards was consistent with the estimation of the Chinese Army. They also attacked Cebu first, and then went north to Manila. However, the degree of defense in Cebu was completely beyond the imagination of the Spaniards. They wanted a quick victory, not under the city of Cebu It took a lot of manpower and material resources, and the food to eat has indeed become a major problem, so there has been a series of raids around the island since then. In fact, the Spanish Asian Expeditionary Force has been arguing about whether to continue the fight. Lord Juan is completely against the war. No confidence, but General Mariello, the commander of the army, was full of confidence in the Spanish infantry. He believed that the previous failure of the Manila colonial army was due to the poor quality of the troops themselves and their underestimation of the enemy.

Weighing it over and over again, the prestige of the Spanish Empire, the dignity of the king, and the rich production in the East attracted the upper echelons of the Spanish army. In the end, Commander Alonso Fonseca decided to take a risk. The more important factor was that the food for the Spanish expeditionary force was already only They can eat for another five days, and the whole army will run out of food after five days. All Spanish officers understand that now they only have to land for a battle, or they still have a chance of victory.

Yin Feng knew that his commanding skills were limited, so after the battle started, he just walked around under the wall to boost morale and deal with some emergency affairs. The man who commanded the battle on the top of the wall was Jin Mingyu, the fugitive from Manila - Yin Feng's first The descendants of a group of direct descendants, from Zhangzhou, Fujian, whose father was an iron craftsman rescued by Yin Feng from the city of Manila.

Under the cover of heavy muskets, the first-line spearmen of the Spanish army launched the first frontal assault on the northern fortress. However, halfway through the rush, the fierce and dense artillery fire on the fortress suddenly defeated the Spanish spearmen.

The Spanish army pushed up the cannons and began to bombard the northern fortress. They did not expect the Chinese artillery fire to be so fierce, so they only thought of pushing the cannons forward until now.

The fort of the northern fortress fought back desperately under the repeated bombardment of thirty Spanish cannons.

At the same time, the American native white troops occupied the Pasig River ferry in the south, but they were bombarded by the cannons from the city of Manila and could not control the ferry. To the north, detoured European mercenary troops had appeared northeast of the North Fort.

At this time, the first Chinese army unit began to cross the river - the black guards began to forcibly cross the Bashi River. They rushed to the north bank under the rain of bullets, and had a fierce battle with the American troops who came to stop them.

The black troops only fired a round of muskets, and immediately launched a charge with bayonet-mounted flintlock muskets. The Spanish and American troops caught off guard were marching. The Spanish musketeers did not have such equipment as bayonets. They are similar to fire sticks in close combat. Seeing that 150 blacks dared to charge, they had to mobilize spearmen to stop them in a hurry. However, it was too late. The black guards were not fond of fighting. Developed a deep attack on the American troops, but pierced the left wing array of the American troops in a diagonal stab, and rushed towards the northern fortress.