Beijing, the Forbidden City Wenhua Hall, the venue for the Ming Dynasty's peace talks with Spain, the Netherlands, England, Portugal, and Japan.
"What's the Armada? Is it called the Invincible Fleet? Isn't your Spanish Armada always beaten by others on the other side of the Atlantic? The English have beaten it, the Dutch have beaten it, and the French seem to have beaten even England and What a small country like the Netherlands with a population of several million can do, how could the Ming Dynasty not be able to do it? To tell you the truth, the four major shipyards of the Ming Dynasty alone can complete 32 third-level battleships and battleships every year. 8 first-class or second-class battleships and hundreds of fourth-class battleships! There is no problem in launching a Dutch navy in two years! How many ships does your Spanish Armada have? Our Ming Navy may not be a match one-on-one. Isn’t one boat enough? They are all wooden boats equipped with bronze cannons, and a cannon ball weighing more than 20 kilograms will definitely make a hole in them!"
The speaker was Zheng Zongming, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhilong’s second son, whose Japanese name was Tagawa Nanasaemon. After Yang Qilong invaded Japan and gained control of Nagasaki Port, his mission in Japan was completely over. He then returned to the Ming Dynasty, entered the Ming Dynasty's Shangshu Province under the arrangement of his nephew Zheng Jing, and quickly achieved new status. The Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - he has been working hard for the cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty in Japan. He is a proper diplomatic veteran. Being the Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is highly expected.
Since he is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he is the one responsible for peace talks with the Spanish, Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Japanese. Although those Westerners and Easterners preferred to meet with General Li to directly discuss issues related to the realization of a decent peace.
But Li Zhongshan did not meet with these foreign devils at all, and the reason was very grand. That is, those envoys were not plenipotentiary representatives sent by the monarchs of Spain, the Netherlands, England, and Portugal to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty. They were not qualified to directly negotiate with Li Da Ming. He is not qualified to meet with a general, or even with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The reason why I can see Zheng Zongming now is entirely thanks to the envoy sent by Tokugawa Yoshitsuna, the former veteran Okubo Tadayomo.
Tadashi is a role of sufficient importance and has the authorization of the shogun, and Japan and the Ming Dynasty are not at war. Although tens of thousands of Japanese mercenaries have landed in Hangzhou Bay, they are all hired by the Kingdom of Spain, and The Tokugawa shogunate itself did not declare war on the Ming Dynasty.
However, even with Okubo Tadashi's favor, the envoys from Spain, the Netherlands, England, and Portugal still encountered trouble with Zheng Zongming. Not only was Zheng Zongming unwilling to discuss a decent peace with them, he also questioned the "invincibility" of the Spanish Armada. He even proudly declared that he would use ten Ming battleships to fight one Spanish battleship. He also claimed that the Ming Dynasty could launch it in two years. An entire Dutch navy!
Spearman, the former Governor of Batavia of the Dutch East India Company, and Juan Carlos, the former Governor of the Philippines, who had been ambassadors and advisors to the Qing Dynasty for a while, trembled in their hearts after hearing these words.
They all know the navy, and of course they know that as long as there is no obvious generation difference between the warships of the two sides, the side with a greater numerical (tonnage) advantage in a naval battle can often win!
They also know that in a battleship duel, unless one party makes an obvious mistake, it is very difficult to sink it, and the greater possibility is to cause damage and capture. The former requires the ability to repair ships. Which side is closer to the shipyard and has more dry docks, the one that is less afraid of damage!
The latter competes for the ability to supplement personnel! The people in charge of jumping gangs on the battleship are not senior sailors, just soldiers who can adapt to life at sea and fight on the deck!
Among the European powers, the Dutch, who can spend more money to hire sailors, are particularly outstanding in this regard!
But this is East Asia!
In East Asia, Ming Dynasty had almost unlimited manpower! Moreover, due to Japan’s long tradition of seclusion and the long-term control of maritime trade in East Asia and Southeast Asia by Fujian and Guangdong maritime merchants, the Ming Dynasty also has the largest number of sailor resources in East and Southeast Asia—except for Europeans and Tianfang believers, almost everyone in East and Southeast Asia All sailors are Chinese! It was also difficult for Spain to use sailors from Persia, Arabia and India who believed in Tianfang religion.
Therefore, although the Spanish Armada has a temporary advantage, the balance of power in the Eastern Sea is undoubtedly tilting towards the Ming Dynasty!
After the Netherlands, England, Spain and other Western maritime powers showed their prowess in France, it was impossible for them to mobilize a large amount of maritime power from Europe to the East.
Therefore, both Spearman and Juan Carlos were very anxious, eager to make peace with Ming while they still had some chips in their hands. If it is delayed any longer, if the Spanish Armada is accidentally hit hard by the Ming Navy with one move, then there will be nothing to talk about.
Spain can never give up on New Spain and ask for peace with the Ming Dynasty, right?
The Dutch are in a similar situation. They can't give up on the rich East Indies, right?
For Britain, also represented by Spearman, the situation is not much better. Although the United Kingdom currently has no colonies in East and Southeast Asia, is it too difficult for them to do business honestly and earn a small "non-monopoly" profit?
If the Ming Dynasty drove away the Spanish Armada and the navy of the Dutch East India Company, captured the East Indies, and sailed the fleet into the Indian Ocean, why would the British still make monopoly money?
Not to mention that you can’t make money in East and Southeast Asia, you can’t make monopoly profits in India!
Daying is going to be poor!
"Zheng Shangshu," although Spearman was extremely anxious in his heart, he still had to look confident on his face, "This time the Spanish Armada is different from the past. Our United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of England have Naval battleships have also joined in. This is actually a joint fleet of the three countries! How long has your Ming Navy been established? How can you defeat the fleets of the three major naval powers of Spain, the Netherlands, and England?"
Juan Carlos also looked like an old god: "If your navy's three-nation joint fleet is annihilated, then your thousands of miles of sea territory will be full of loopholes! By then, Japanese pirates will not just land in Hangzhou Bay!"
"Hahaha" Zheng Zongming laughed.
"Zheng Shangshu, why are you laughing?" Okubo Tadacho looked at Zheng Zongming, always feeling a little vain in his heart.
Although Hota Masatoshi continued to report victories to Edo in the past few months, saying that he defeated tens of thousands of Ming troops, the battle line was nailed to the Pinghu County area on the edge of Hangzhou Bay.
Even though the shogunate later sent several more reinforcements, as of now, the number of Japanese mercenaries on the battlefield in Hangzhou Bay has reached as many as 60,000 to 70,000, but the battle line remains motionless.
While the front line was motionless, the Japanese mercenaries had a big problem with their logistical supplies!
Because the main force of the Spanish Armada went to chase the Ming Navy's ocean-going fleet, the only ones responsible for supplying Japanese mercenaries were the armed merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company.
Although the armed merchant ships of the two East India Companies are also very capable, as the "dumpling ships" of the four major shipyards of the Ming Dynasty continue to be launched, the armed merchant ships of the Dutch and English are no longer able to cope - there was even one recently A newly built first-class battleship is wandering around the Yangtze River Estuary and Hangzhou Bay! In the final analysis, an armed merchant ship is an armed merchant ship. The opponent's fourth-level ship is already very reluctant. How can a first-level ship with a displacement of more than 2,000 tons be defeated by a merchant ship?
So the tens of thousands of Japanese mercenaries who landed in Hangzhou Bay are now starving!
When Zheng Zongming heard Okubo Tadayo's question, he stopped smiling and said to him seriously: "Okubo Laochu, your mercenaries are starving. They have been abandoned by the Westerners and the Tokugawa shogunate. So I am not completely desperate yet. I have illusions about the Spanish Armada. When our Ming Dynasty Ocean Fleet returns to Hangzhou Bay, they will become Ming Dynasty’s Japanese mercenaries!
At that time, the Ming Navy will send them to attack Batavia and Malacca! "
Dutch Spielman's face turned dark when he heard this!
Because what Zheng Zongming said is very likely to happen!
No matter how good Japanese mercenaries are, they are still mercenaries!
Mercenaries fight for money, and they have no feudal obligations to their employers. As long as the Spanish Armada cannot guarantee their supply lines, they will change their positions and fight the Spanish for the Ming Dynasty. If the Dutch don't switch sides, are they waiting to starve to death?
Once these tens of thousands of dying Japanese pirates defect, the Dutch rule in the East Indies will collapse!
Because the biggest difficulty in capturing the East Indies is not the more than 10,000 Dutch mercenaries, but tropical diseases! Tropical diseases typically kill between one-third and two-thirds of the lives of outsiders.
Whoever can survive this illness and death will win!
The Ming army's previous victory in Luzon Island relied on the fact that Japanese mercenaries could afford to die. There was nothing commendable about this war. Japanese mercenaries fell ill in batches outside the Santiago Castle in Manila, while the Spaniards endured infectious diseases and explosive bombs in the small castle.
In the end, half of the Japanese died and a third of the Spanish died, but the Spanish couldn't bear it anymore and Kaicheng surrendered! The surviving Japanese mercenaries either settled in Luzon and worked as lackeys for the Ming Dynasty, or took their money and returned to Japan to live a happy life. However, all the Spanish men were slaughtered by the Japanese. This is called "surrounding without pardon" !
Luzon Island will be sealed to the Lee Dynasty that lost Korea.
If the tens of thousands of Japanese cannon fodder in Pinghu fall into the hands of the Ming army, and the Ming navy sends them outside Batavia and Malacca, relying on their super endurance of death, the Dutch will almost 100% lose their richest wealth. The colony!
On the South China Sea, thousands of miles away from Beijing, the sky has begun to brighten. The huge ships made of teak and fir were moving exhaustedly on the sea with the wind. Each battleship has traces of fierce battles. Many battleships have large and small holes in their decks, and their sails are in tatters. Those were all injured by projectiles fired from the enemy's heavy artillery! On the Liaodong first-class battleship, there were black marks everywhere, which were caused by arson bombs fired by Spanish and Dutch warships that ignited the ship's planks and sails. On the deck of this large warship with a displacement of more than 2,000 tons, the flesh and blood of casualty officers and soldiers that had not yet been cleaned up could be seen everywhere, indicating that a bloody gang-hopping war had taken place here.
Not far to the west of this first-level battleship, there are several even more miserable-looking fourth-level battleships. Among their originally neat battle lines, three fourth-level battleships have been missing. In the repeated pursuit battles with the Spanish Armada these days, the Ming Navy's ocean-going fleet has been suffering losses! Three fourth-level battleships, eight armed Galen ships and thousands of sailors have been lost.
One of the fiercest battles took place during the day yesterday. The admiral of the Ming Navy's ocean-going fleet, 55 Ming warships (including 1 first-class ship and 28 fourth-class ships) commanded by Lieutenant General Cotentin from France, and the Spanish Armada with more than 80 ships (including Many Dutch and English warships or armed merchant ships) fought a bloody battle.
More than a hundred warships from both sides fought a bloody battle in the vast South China Sea. The battle started in the early morning and lasted until yesterday evening. The fleets on both sides first lined up for bombardment, and then engaged in a melee for several hours. They broke away from contact until nightfall was about to fall.
As for the losses on both sides, they were only half a catty. The losses to the Spanish Armada that can be confirmed so far are that two fourth-level ships were sunk and one third-level ship was severely damaged.
However, all officers of the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet, including Cotentin, know that the Spanish and Dutch will not give up!
Because time is not on their side!
The Ming Navy's ocean-going fleet left the Yangtze Estuary almost a year and a half ago and embarked on a long journey. In the past year and a half, except for short stops at Acapulco Port, Manila Port, and Huining Port, they have not made any other visits. Ashore. Among them, the longest continuous sailing without docking reached 3 months! If it hadn't been for the large quantities of lemons and tea it carried, the fleet would have suffered from an outbreak of scurvy.
After this year and a half of sailing and combat, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet have grown up. They have learned how to sail, adapted to long-term sea life, and also practiced naval warfare skills.
They are no longer the rookies they were before, but the most valuable assets of the Ming Navy!
And during this year and a half, Ming's local shipyards will not be idle. They must have built dozens of powerful first-, second-, and third-level battleships, and hundreds of fourth-level battleships!
Just wait until the officers and soldiers of the Ming Navy's ocean-going fleet return to Guangzhou Port to complete a short rest, and they will board the powerful and brand-new battleship. By then, it will be time for the Spanish Armada to be wiped out again!
Because he knows this truth, Spanish Admiral Pedro de Zabala will never give up. Because his invincible fleet cannot achieve greater results when attacking the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet, which is far smaller than itself, let alone Facing a Ming naval fleet whose strength far exceeds its own?
The strength of the Ming Navy exceeds that of the Armada, which is what is happening right now. Once the veterans get on the new ship, the advantage of the Spanish Armada will be gone.
On the "Santa Maria Concepcion", the flagship of the Spanish Armada, Admiral Zabala was patrolling the deck while listening to the staff report: "Admiral, five percent of the sailors have appeared now. Symptoms of scurvy: The fleet is very tired!
Moreover, more than 30% of the ships are injured to varying degrees and must return to Batavia for overhaul."
"Overhaul?" Admiral Zabala looked back at the staff officer, "Do you know how many warships and armed merchant ships are waiting for repairs in the Batavia shipyard? Our warships have to queue up when they go back. Within a year They may not even be ranked. By the time we have repaired all the ships, the Chinese may have built 300 first-, second- and third-level battleships!"
"But..." the staff officer said, "They should have built a lot by now! If we catch up all the way, we may encounter the Ming Dynasty's cutting-edge warships in China's offshore waters!"
Admiral Sabala shook his head firmly: "It doesn't matter, excellent naval officers and soldiers cannot be developed overnight. As long as we destroy the fleeing Ming fleet, we can maintain the power of the Eastern Sea for at least another two years!" "
As soon as he finished speaking, a harsh bell suddenly sounded from the lookout post on the mast!
The admiral looked at his staff officer and laughed: "Okay! Caught up!"
(End of chapter)
