In May of the 28th year of Chongzhen, three vassal kings, including King Lu, led the subjects they had recruited on ships they hired or bought, and accompanied the second batch of the Ming expeditionary force under the command of Zheng Zhilong. Next, we set sail and began our journey across the Pacific Ocean.
At this time, based on the pressure of the Ming army, the Spaniards in America were seeking ways to reconcile with European islands. However, because the Ming army led by Sun Chuanting was operating along the Pacific coast, there was not much conflict of interest with the pirates on the Atlantic side. On the contrary, it is the property of Spain, the overlord, that arouses the covetousness of islands from all over the world.
Therefore, just as in history, when the second batch of the Ming Dynasty's expeditionary force set off, the British fleet jointly led by the British William Byng and Robert Venables captured the Spanish Jamaica. Then, they immediately invited pirates from France, England, the Netherlands and other countries to the island's port of Port Loire to help defend against possible Spanish counterattacks.
In short, at this time, although the situation in America had changed due to butterfly wings. However, this change has not completely changed the situation in the Americas. In this case, the Spaniards are under the greatest pressure and have the biggest headache.
On the contrary, Portugal, the second in command of the American colonies, knew the whole situation and was very happy. Anders believes that in a few years, Portugal will be first in the Americas and Ming will be second, and there will be nothing like Spain.
On this day, in Port Loire, Jamaica, William Byng and Robert Venables were discussing a possible Spanish counterattack.
To be honest, the two of them are still very worried about Spain, the overlord. Otherwise, pirates from other countries would not be invited to come to the territory they had finally conquered.
They were talking when suddenly, they heard their subordinates running over to report: "There is a Spanish ship approaching with a white flag on it!"
William and Robert couldn't help but be a little surprised after hearing this, and looked at each other. Then, I heard Robert say: "What's going on? It's so easy to negotiate and you want to negotiate? I thought they would send a fleet over?"
In the original history, the Spaniards were indeed unwilling to give in. They set out from Brazil and came to compete for Jamaica several times, but they all failed in the end.
After hearing this, William suddenly showed a hint of excitement on his face and said, "Could it be that those things in the legend are true?"
"What legendary thing?" Robert asked curiously after hearing this.
William replied with a bit of schadenfreude: "I heard that the Spaniards are in big trouble. It seems that they were attacked by the Orientals and even Mexico was lost!"
"Oh, this is unlikely, right?" Robert was very surprised after hearing this, "Can there be Orientals in America? Are Orientals so powerful?"
Obviously, the pirates on the Atlantic were not well informed and did not know that the Ming army was already attacking everywhere and was powerful. They are still looking at things with old eyes and old thinking.
Therefore, William only heard about it and was not sure. After chatting for a while, the two were ready to see what medicine the Spaniards were selling in their gourds.
After about half an hour, the Spanish ship with the white flag docked, and an envoy finally came to the island's meeting hall. Not only William and Robert are here, but other pirate leaders are also here. Because they were also curious and didn't know what the Spaniards were doing, so they all came to listen.
The person who came was none other than Filot, who was on the Ming Dynasty's wanted list. He was originally in Manila, but he managed to escape during the Battle of Manila and returned to the American continent. Because he was most familiar with the Ming army, he was sent to negotiate with these pirates.
Looking at the somewhat noisy meeting hall, to be honest, from his heart, he was proud and looked down on these pirates from various European countries. However, the situation was stronger than the people, so he had to humbly say to the two British guys on the throne: "The Governor sent me here to tell you some very bad news."
At this point, he paused, and when he saw that everyone was no longer whispering, he loudly announced: "The devil is coming from the east. If we don't unite, we will definitely be expelled from America."
Hearing this, William and Robert couldn't help but look at each other to confirm that the rumors were indeed true, and the Spaniards were in big trouble.
However, they didn't take it seriously. If it was a big trouble, it was also a big trouble for the Spaniards. It had nothing to do with them.
Before the two of them could speak, the pirate leaders who were listening had already started shouting.
"What Eastern Demon? Can there be a demon in the East?"
"Yes, if I remember correctly, Orientals are all soft-legged crabs, the most obedient!"
"Don't you have any clues in your heart? We all want you to get out of America!"
"Are you playing some conspiracy? You must be trying to take back Jamaica, right?"
"..."
Hearing that these people were so mean, Filot was so angry that he wanted to turn around and leave immediately. Talking to these pirates was such an insult to his identity.
However, thinking of Spain's current situation, he had to suppress his unhappiness and shouted loudly, trying to cover the voices of these pirates: "You don't know, Mexico has been taken away by the Orientals! They saw We white people will all be killed. Do you think you will be fine if we meet in the future?"
His news was like a bombshell, which stunned the pirates.
Mexico has always been the focus of the Spanish business. No matter how brave they are as pirates, they never dare to attack Mexico.
During this time, they just felt something unusual, because the Spanish warships in the Gulf of Mexico increased significantly. However, they had no idea what was happening on land.
At this time, they got a real hammer, and they were really surprised that Mexico was captured by the Easterners.
Robert immediately confirmed again: "You said that the Orientals captured Mexico, how many people did they come? Don't you Spain always think that you are the strongest? Why can't you even protect Mexico?"
Others listened and also had this question.
In fact, although they dare to grab things from Spain, one thing they have to admit is that the Spaniards are indeed powerful.
"Orientals, to be precise, people from the Ming Dynasty. Have you heard of that big empire in the Far East? Silk, porcelain, raw silk, etc. are all their specialties!" Felot explained to them, "That's it. This great empire sent troops across the ocean, with about 20,000 people, and captured Mexico."
At this point, he remembered something, and then added: "By the way, there are also the Portuguese, they are helping the people of the Ming Dynasty, they are the ones who attracted the people of the Ming Dynasty."
In fact, in his heart, there was actually another reason why the Ming people came to America, that is, the Ming army came to hunt him down. However, this was a secret. He kept it deep in his heart and told no one.
After hearing his news, the pirates in the meeting hall couldn't help but start talking again.
Some are saying that they have heard about the Eastern Empire, which is said to be very rich, and they are still thinking about going to the East to grab a piece of it! Others expressed doubts. They had never heard that the Easterners would run out, at least the Eastern armies would run out. I am afraid this was not made up by the Spaniards. Some even expressed doubts about the combat effectiveness of the Easterners. They feel that in this world, only white people are the most powerful, and other people are used to be colonized...
Seeing that the meeting hall was a little chaotic again, Filot had to speak loudly and loudly again. This time, he said to the Dutch pirates: "I'm afraid you don't know that in the Far East, we Spain and You Dutch people joined forces, does your Batavia governor Anthony know? We in Spain joined forces with him to fight against the Ming army. But the result was that the entire army was annihilated. Did you hear that, the entire army was annihilated!"
Hearing the exciting news again, all the pirates were stunned. If they had no impression of the Ming Army's combat effectiveness before, then Filot's news at this time can give them a rough idea of how strong the Ming Army is!
However, it’s not what he says that these pirates will believe!
Therefore, Robert immediately asked about the situation.
Filot was a person involved in that battle. Even after so many years in the Far East, he began to tell them in detail about the Ming Empire in the Far East and the details of the battle in Nanyang.
He is a person who has experienced it, not someone who hears stories. Therefore, when he tells the story, even when faced with the pirates' questioning, he can explain it. In the end, these pirates basically accept the fact that the people in the Far East The Ming Empire was definitely not what they imagined.
After reaching this conclusion, William confirmed again: "So, you have really lost Mexico?"
"This is not a glorious thing!" Filot was a little annoyed, but he still had to answer patiently, "Mexico was indeed taken away by the Ming army, but the coast is still under the control of our Spaniards. Today's Ming army , mainly fighting southward along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean. If we Europeans don’t unite, there will be no place for us Europeans in America by then!”
After hearing this, the meeting hall was quiet for a while. But soon, they started to be noisy again.
Some pirates said that it is none of our business if the Ming army attacks Spain!
Some pirates start asking for prices, give you money first, and then help you fight!
Some pirates were asking how the Ming army's wealth was, was it much? Judging from the appearance of these people, they seemed to be trying to rob the Ming army just like they wanted to rob the Spaniards.
…………
In short, there are all kinds of pirates with all kinds of ideas.
