The two massacres of the Han people by the Spaniards on Luzon Island during the Wanli Period are not recorded in history, and are even rarely known.
During the two massacres, the Ming Dynasty did not react at all, not even a verbal warning, because the party struggle in the Ming Dynasty at that time was extremely fierce, and neither the emperor nor the court officials wanted to ask about the matter, which completely encouraged the Spanish arrogance.
Because of their inaction, the Ming Dynasty's remaining prestige in Nanyang was completely lost.
As a result, Spain despised Daming, the leader of Asia, even more. It can be said that it did not take it seriously at all.
In fact, the Spaniards not only committed these two massacres. They also had two large-scale massacres in the 12th year of Chongzhen and the 18th year of Yongli. The main targets were Han people.
After the massacre occurred during the Chongzhen period, the report was sent back to Beijing. The emperor and courtiers did not even bother to read it, because at that time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was threatening the capital everywhere, Li Zicheng had made a comeback, and the emperor could not protect himself, so how could he care about this? A trivial matter.
After the news of the massacre in the 18th year of Yongli's reign reached Taiwan, Zheng Chenggong, the king of Yanping County, was furious and immediately vowed to personally lead a fleet south to attack the Spaniards entrenched on Luzon Island.
Unfortunately, he died young due to illness before he started this military plan. After Zheng Chenggong died, the Zheng Dynasty in Taiwan fell into a struggle for the throne. No one cared that this battle was so far away from them. Massacre incident.
At that time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had also taken over the Central Plains. They always regarded the Han people as outsiders and enemies, and they were even less likely to offer help. They wished that the foreigners would kill more.
The reason why Zhu Youxiao mentioned this matter was that although he felt sad for these suffering people, the more reason was related to the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
Yuan Keli stood aside and listened with grief, but he did not dare to answer the question at all. What His Majesty said was too sensitive, and it all involved the late emperor.
"Look, my dear, how vast is this boundless ocean? But no part of this ocean belongs to the Ming Dynasty. Was the Japanese rebellion during the Jiajing period really caused by those Japanese ronin?"
"I asked you to governor Denglai, not just to build a navy, but to build a fleet that can truly go to sea and fight. This fleet is larger than Zheng He's fleet during the Yongle period. The strength of the fleet is stronger than those of the red-haired barbarians."
"Your Majesty, if we want to build such a fleet, it will probably take at least two or three years, and it will cost countless money, food and materials. Although I support your Majesty's grand plan, I also know the key to coastal defense."
"But now our Ming Dynasty seems to be a little stretched. I think we can make preparations for the time being, and then focus on implementing this strategy after the Jiannu are annihilated."
Such a fleet could not be supported by the current national strength of the imperial court. The state treasury's income of several million taels that year had very little left after paying out officials' salaries and military expenses.
Why doesn't Zhu Youxiao want to take his time? It's just that the situation waits for no one. The fact of opening the sea is really too important, and preparations must be made as soon as possible.
"I know you are worried about the empty treasury, why don't I know that?"
"My dear, the territory of those Western countries is not even as large as our Ming Dynasty, and their background is as small as that of a child compared to our Ming Dynasty."
"But why can they go on long voyages? Why can they have such a powerful maritime fleet? Can their national wealth really support it?"
"But why are they still going overseas one after another? Why are they vigorously developing overseas? Because the wealth overseas is enough for anyone to risk their lives to fight for it."
"At the moment, there is a British stronghold in Nanyang called the East India Company. This so-called East India Company is just like the chambers of commerce in the Ming Dynasty. The people who work there are all businessmen."
"But this group, which is like a chamber of commerce, controls a large area of land and a vast ocean. Its strength is countless times stronger than that of the local country. The gold and silver it earns from trade every year is more than my tax revenue in the next year. Many times more.”
Yuan Keli didn't understand any of this at all. He didn't even know who this British person was. But after listening to what the emperor said, it was like opening up a new world and he was shocked. Is there really such wealth overseas?
"Your Majesty, this matter is too important and violates Taizu's ancestral system. Do we need to discuss it with the courtiers before making a decision?"
"No need. To put it bluntly, most of those courtiers are short-sighted. Their minds and eyes are all focused on fighting for power. I just want to avoid them, so I will meet with you alone today."
"Even if it is His Majesty's decree, I will fully support it even if my body is broken to pieces, but this money and food...!"
"You can rest assured that I will help you solve the problem of money and food!"
This money was the biggest problem. After solving the matter, Yuan Keli became more confident and said:
"Then I have accepted the order. When I arrive in Denglai, I will immediately start preparing for this matter!"
Next, Zhu Youxiao explained to him in detail the building of ships and port construction.
According to his idea, the main ship should change from the norm and build a real maritime ship, just like those in Western countries.
There is also the port, which is the primary issue. The port to anchor is the top priority. He selected two places, one for military use and the other for civilian use.
The military port base is located in Weihaiwei. This is an excellent location. It is the most prominent place on the Shandong Peninsula and has extremely convenient access to the sea.
According to Zhu Youxiao's plan, this military port will have warehouses, training grounds, residential areas, and defensive forts. A small military port and fort will also be built on Liugong Island to form a rivalry with the fleet base.
The civilian port has been temporarily selected in Yantai, but it will not be built now, but will be planned first.
Zhu Youxiao gave Yuan Keli 30,000 troops, with three branches: Army, Marine Corps, and Fleet Sailors, with a clear division of labor.
Other craftsmen and the like are left to him to decide. Zhu Youxiao has no restrictions on this aspect. This kind of matter must be led by the person in charge, and he cannot interfere too much.
He recruited all the generals himself, and Zhu Youxiao did not interfere. The required stones, giant trees and other building materials would be arranged after Yuan Keli went to the site for on-site inspection and wrote a report based on the actual situation.
He selected 3,000 people from the Yulin Army, and Zhou Wengang was in charge of commanding them. They went with him to Denglai as his standard soldiers.
He also allocated 1 million taels of silver and 10,000 shi of grain from his own internal funds to him, which were temporarily used to fund early recruitment, building barracks and other matters.
All affairs in Denglai and Denglai were handed over to him, and he personally handed over Shang Fang's sword and the imperial edict of appointment to him.
Yuan Keli stayed in the Qianqing Palace until the afternoon. Zhu Youxiao did not keep him for lunch, but asked him to take office as soon as possible and prepare as soon as possible.
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