"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 palace, de Velasco was talking about his plan to Bassabo and the newly appointed commander of the Spanish Eastern Fleet, Barcelo, who came in a hurry.

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 did not bear the unlucky "Invincible" name. Moreover, the size of this fleet was much smaller than the previous Armada.

There are only eleven light, 300-ton (load-loaded) armed galenic ships in total. With this number of galenic ships, the Spanish Eastern Fleet was no longer able to compete with the Ming Dynasty for sea control in the Western Pacific, so it adopted piracy tactics.

Ghosts appeared in Japan's offshore waters, attacking 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 shells, it could not deal with large transport groups that were in groups and escorted by gunboats (the explosive shells of this era were 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," Admiral Barcelo frowned deeply, "Now has it reached a 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 withstand tropical infectious diseases.

"

"I know," de Velasco thought for a moment, "but considering the current international situation, it is obviously more advantageous to abandon Manila Castle.

Because once the Ming Dynasty captures Manila and the entire Luzon Island, the Dutch East India Company will 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 Velasco nodded, "There are no eternal enemies in the world. In fact, during our war with Cromwell, the Dutch were already standing behind us. Otherwise, the Spanish

The Netherlands has long been completely captured by the British and French forces, and there will 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, and 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 Sultanate of Sulu and the Sultanate of Bonny were originally Ming dynasties.

Later, due to the weakening of the Ming Dynasty and the invasion of Western forces, they gradually alienated the Ming Dynasty.

The Sultanate of Johor developed from the remaining forces of the original vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the Sultanate of Malacca. The Sultanate of Malacca 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, so 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 Strait 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 have become allies with these sultanates to a certain extent. The Dutch East India Company's policy is very flexible and is not as good at making enemies as the Spanish. Therefore, their policy in the Strait of Malacca is to focus on attacking Portugal, Spanish forces and Malan.

The Sultanate, while keeping a close eye on the behemoth Great Ming Dynasty in the north.

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 behind the scenes. Moreover, we do not have the ability

To defend Manila, only a few thousand Japanese samurai trained and equipped according to the Ming Army's new army would be enough to surround Manila.

Even if the siege lasts for several years, Manila will still fall. And with the ferocity of the Japanese samurai, we will lose everyone!"

Despite the fact that Spain and the 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 ships, and it was impossible to equip ordinary merchant ships with dangerous explosive ammunition.

, so he needed to exchange Spanish prisoners for Ming sailors who were captured by the Spaniards. Although Ming had a large population, it had very few experienced sailors and could not afford the loss!

Likewise, the Spaniards were unwilling to suffer huge casualties. 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 an intermediary in the exchange of prisoners.

But the Japanese didn't care about this, they didn't have any sailors to exchange, so the Spanish sailors who fell into the hands of the shogunate were bound to die!

De Velasco paused and then said: "Admiral, I hope you can try to evacuate all the people in Manila Castle to Japan and also try to collect some Chinese sailing ships that can pass through the Pacific. The more the better!"

"Can a sailing ship pass through the Pacific?" Barcelona asked, "Ambassador, do you want"

De Velasco said: "Shimazu Mitsuhisa must be given hope. Even a samurai who is not afraid of death must 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 military camp and fortress.

The road leading to the Nagasaki Peninsula from land has been completely blocked by a series of newly built fortresses. The original Nagasaki town is now tightly protected by city walls and trenches. Even the sea, which is least susceptible to attack, is also protected by

The fort was blocked.

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, and were all stationed outside the city of Nagasaki.

In the past, Japan's largest foreign trade port was now filled with samurai armed with swords. Most of them 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 they were not "monkeys", they could still get some seven-guns, the Four Heavenly Kings, from now on.

Tragic life, rising from the bottom.

But when the fight started, they realized that they were not monkeys, nor seven guns, nor one of the Four Heavenly Kings, nor even an ashigaru who could receive a little salary. Because their lord had lost his territory and was living under someone else's roof.
Chapter completed!