Rather than letting the Spaniards in the New World become victims of the Japanese mercenaries of the Ming Dynasty, it would be better to let the Japanese kill each other on Kyushu Island! "
In the Spanish Embassy outside the city, De Velasco was talking about his plan to Bassabo and the newly appointed Spanish Eastern Fleet Commander Barcelo who were rushing over.
De Velasco paused, and then asked Barcelona, a navy veteran with gray hair and beard: "Admiral, does the fleet now have the ability to transport people trapped in Manila?"
After the Eastern Armada was almost destroyed, the Kingdom of New Spain rebuilt an Eastern Fleet, but it was no longer given the unlucky "Invincible" name. Moreover, the size of this fleet is much smaller than that of the previous Armada, with a total of only eleven light, three-hundred-ton (load-load) armed galenic ships. With this number of Galen ships, the Spanish Eastern Fleet was no longer able to compete with the Ming Dynasty for sea control in the Western Pacific. Therefore, it adopted piracy tactics and appeared in the offshore waters of Japan to attack the ships of the Ming Dynasty and the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Because these armed Galenic ships were fast, hit-and-run, and often flew the flags of other countries, the Ming Dynasty's navy was very troubled by them. It organized many encirclement and suppression campaigns, but failed to completely eliminate them.
However, because the Spanish Eastern Fleet had a limited number of ships and was very wary of the Ming Dynasty Navy's explosive ammunition, it could not deal with large transport groups that were in groups and escorted by gunboats (the explosive ammunition of this era was very dangerous, and only strictly trained gunners could can be used), so the losses caused to the Ming Dynasty and the shogunate were not unbearable.
"Ambassador," General Barcelo frowned deeply, "Now has it reached the point where we must abandon Manila? If we hold on to Manila Castle, the enemy will pay a heavy price... because the enemy who besieged Manila must bear Invasion of Tropical Infectious Diseases.”
“I know,” de Velasco thought for a moment, “but given the current international situation, it would obviously be more advantageous to abandon Manila Castle.
Because once the Ming Dynasty captured Manila and the entire Luzon Island, the Dutch East India Company would feel the threat approaching. "
"Will the Dutch stand with us?" Admiral Barcelona frowned even more tightly. He didn't believe the Dutch at all.
"Definitely!" De Belasco nodded, "There are no permanent enemies in the world... In fact, in our war with Cromwell, the Dutch had already stood by us. Behind. Otherwise, the Spanish Netherlands would have been completely captured by the British and French forces, and there would not be so many privateers to attack British merchant ships.
And compared with the profits from selling Chinese silk and porcelain, several spice islands in Southeast Asia were the largest source of profits for the Dutch East India Company.
If Luzon Island falls into the hands of the Chinese, the Boni Sultanate and the Sulu Sultanate will immediately fall to the Ming Dynasty. By then, the Spice Island of the Netherlands will be exposed to the Ming army! "
In Southeast Asia, there are currently the Sultanate of Johor, the Sultanate of Pattani, the Sultanate of Bonny, the Sultanate of Sulu, the Sultanate of Mataram, the Sultanate of Aceh, etc. Among them, the Sulu Sultanate and the Boni Sultanate were originally vassals of the Ming Dynasty. Later, due to the weakening of the Ming Dynasty and the invasion of Western forces, they gradually became alienated from the Ming Dynasty.
The Sultanate of Johor developed from the remaining forces of the Malacca Sultanate, the original vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The Malacca Sultanate was conquered by the Portuguese, and the royal family fled to Johor to establish a new country.
The Sultanate of Aceh actually belonged to the Tianfang religious circle in the Indian Ocean. Therefore, it received support from the Mughal Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire. It was once relatively fierce and fought vigorously with the Portuguese colonists. However, it also weakened after the rise of the Dutch East India Company.
After the Dutch East India Company replaced the Portuguese as the overlord of the Straits of Malacca and Java Island, it changed the religious line of the Portuguese and no longer forced Christianity. Therefore, the relationship with the Sultanate of Johor, Pattani Sultanate, and Aceh Sultanate Relations were not as tense as they were when the Portuguese ruled the Straits of Malacca.
Moreover, the Dutch also became allies with these sultanates to a certain extent-the Dutch East India Company's policies were very flexible and were not as good at making enemies as the Spanish. Therefore, their policy in the Strait of Malacca is to focus on attacking the Portuguese and Spanish forces and the Malang Sultanate, while paying close attention to the behemoth in the north, the Great Ming Dynasty.
As for the Boni Sultanate and the Sulu Sultanate, because the spice trade in Southeast Asia was monopolized by the Dutch East India Company (they originally trafficked spices to China), they had relatively large conflicts with the Dutch East India Company, and they were also threatened by the Spanish. So I have been looking forward to heading south tomorrow.
De Velasco said: "Based on my understanding of the Dutch, they may not come to the front immediately, but they will definitely manipulate the three sultanates of Pattani, Johor, and Aceh to form an alliance against the Ming Dynasty... .Moreover, we no longer have the ability to defend Manila. We only need a few thousand Japanese samurai trained and equipped according to the training and equipment of the Ming Army's new army, which is enough to surround Manila.
Even if the siege lasted for several years, Manila would still fall. And with the ferocity of the Japanese samurai, we will lose everyone! "
Even though Spain and Ming Dynasty are having fun at sea now, the personnel losses on both sides are not too great. On the one hand, Emperor Zhu did not have the ability to escort all the ships, and it was impossible to equip ordinary merchant ships with dangerous explosive bombs, so he needed to exchange Spanish prisoners for Ming sailors who were captured by the Spaniards. Although the Ming Dynasty had a large population, it lacked experience. There are very few rich sailors, so we can’t afford the loss!
Likewise, the Spaniards were unwilling to suffer huge human losses...they were few in number, and even fewer in the east.
Therefore, the Holy Roman Empire's mission to the Ming Dynasty played the role of a middleman in the exchange of prisoners.
But the Japanese don't care about this, they don't have any sailors to exchange, so the Spanish sailors who fall into the hands of the shogunate will definitely die!
De Velasco paused and then said: "Admiral, I hope you can try to evacuate all the people in Manila Castle to Japan... and at the same time try to collect some Chinese-style sailing ships that can pass through the Pacific. The number is increasing. The more the merrier!”
"A sailing ship that can pass through the Pacific?" Barcelona asked, "Ambassador, do you want..."
De Velasco said: "Shimazu Mitsuhisa must see hope... Even a samurai who is not afraid of death needs to rely on hope to fight!"
...
Japan, Nagasaki.
This port city, surrounded by hundreds of small islands and a series of rolling hills, has now transformed from a commercial city into a huge barracks and fortress.
The road leading from the land to the Nagasaki Peninsula has been completely blocked by a series of newly built forts. The original city of Nagasaki is now tightly protected by walls and trenches. Even the sea, which is least vulnerable to attack, is blocked with forts.
An army of 10,000 rogues recruited by Hoshina in the name of Tokugawa Taka guarded various fortresses and city walls to block Toyotomi (Shimazu)'s attack.
The remnants of the pro-shogunate lords who failed in the battle with the Toyotomi Army (Shimadzu) also retreated to Nagasaki one after another, all stationed outside Nagasaki City.
In the past, Japan's largest foreign trade port was now filled with samurai armed with knives - most of whom lived in poverty and had a bleak future.
During the Tokugawa rule, these people fantasized about the troubled times of the Warring States Period every day, as if when the troubled times came, they could become as prosperous as the "monkeys"! Even if you don't become a "monkey", you can still get the Seven Spears and the Four Heavenly Kings. From then on, you can live a tragic life and fight back from the bottom.
But when the fight started, they realized that they were not monkeys, nor were they the Seventh Spear or the Four Heavenly Kings. They could hardly even get along with an Ashigaru who could receive a little salary... because their lord was not a monkey. Having lost his territory and being dependent on others, he is about to become a retainer!
