He has been adrift at sea for a week, but Yangzhou's spirit is still very strong, he sometimes pays attention to the fishing rod, sometimes looks up at the sky, except that the weather is too hot to want to move, it can be described as very leisurely.

It has been two hours since he got up at seven o'clock in the morning, during which he has washed up and eaten a simple breakfast, and he has lived quite a full life.

As the only modern sailing yacht in the hands of the Senate, the "Hong Kong Reporter" was finally able to make the best use of everything, and both its speed and self-sustaining power made him the first choice for maritime reconnaissance. Some of the patriarchs even discussed that if there had not been a reliable reconnaissance last year, they would not have let go of the silver galen bound for Manila in vain.

At this time, no one would have felt that there was any problem with how to get the reconnaissance ships to and fro for supplies nearly a thousand nautical miles before Palawan, which is now the island of Zheng He, was occupied.

Fortunately, Puerto Princesa was already in the hands of the Senate, and the Fubo army, with the help of Jaco, easily occupied this pirate den under the name of the Spaniards, which made it possible to carry out another idea of Silver Galen.

However, the capture operation was able to be carried out so smoothly, and the role played by the household department in this operation should not be underestimated.

After weighing the gains and losses, the Senate finally decided to attack the silver galen bound for Manila again, hoping to take Manila as well, and the suggestion of the household department was quite important.

With the occupation of more and more areas, the demand for industrial construction and foreign immigrants is also increasing day by day, and the raw materials needed by industry cannot be self-sufficient in a short period of time, and mining requires both time and cost, as well as people. Regardless of the largest source of raw materials, the Ming Dynasty and other commercial ports around the South Seas needed a large amount of silver as a guarantee for the Senate's transactions. The amount of banknotes that were originally stretched to meet the needs of immigrants was also stretched, and the growth of products exacerbated the situation. In order to prevent deflation in the territory, the Senate also urgently needed a considerable amount of precious metals as a reserve for the issuance of new currency, and only by ensuring the initial strong demand for cash withdrawals from immigrants from the mainland could the position of paper money continue to be stable.

According to several intelligence sources in Manila, the Espíritu Santo and the San Juan Bautista arrived in Hong Kong on a day between July 2 and 5 last year, bringing with them a royal grant of more than 200,000 silver pesos for the Viceroyalty of the Philippines. But the silver and gold and silver products of the Americas that came with these grants were often several times higher than those belonging to private traders.

In the case of the San Andrés, another Galen ship that arrived in Manila only on July 31 last year, the actual value of gold and silver on board his ship exceeded 1 million pesos, or nearly 40 tons of silver.

Although the Spanish royal family's pardon repeatedly required that the total value of goods and silver shipped from Acapulco to the Philippines in the Pacific side of southern Mexico should not exceed 500,000 pesos per year, the ban was never seriously enforced, even if it was reaffirmed this year.

The merchants of the two viceroyalties of the Americas always relied on ocean-going ships to do their business, so much so that the Viceroyalty of New Spain even called for a ban on the import of Chinese raw silk eight years ago, but the Chinese raw silk and silk products that had crossed the sea were still competing with the textile millers of Seville in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and Peru for the American market, and the price of Chinese goods arriving in Hong Kong was less than half of the price of Spanish domestic products, which continued to hurt the industry and self-esteem of the Spaniards, until those silk goods crossed the Atlantic Ocean again and flowed into the Iberian Peninsula.

In the eyes of many Native Americans, the Galen ship was a Chinese ship, and the distant Philippines was not far behind a province of the Chinese Empire, so after the door of the new century was opened, the governor of New Spain was surprised to find that the number of indigenous people in Mexico wearing Chinese silk was much larger than that of native cotton cloth.

Almost in the last decade, the abundance of silk, veils, silk parasols, stockings, and cheap porcelain and furniture have all but overwhelmed the native industries of the Americas. But in some years the profits were close to tenfold, and the merchants still flocked to the sea route to the East, even if it was more of a cancer to the empire.

This, coupled with the peculiar needs of Eastern politics, trade, and mission, led to the fact that the royal family was allowed to transport large sums of subsidies from the Americas each year to the administrative body of the Viceroyalty of the Philippines, which was actually at a loss, and that the governors of the Americas began to participate in the silver several times that amounted to this amount, either explicitly or implicitly.

In short, the abacus of the household department of the Third Reich of the Great Song Dynasty was clanging, and according to the limited records of the robbery of silver Galen in later generations, as long as a sailing ship could be captured, the income of 4 or 500,000 pesos could always be obtained, and when converted into silver, there were more than 300,000 taels, which was enough for a certain proportion of additional currency issuance to make up for the continuous rich supply of commodities under the rule of the Senate. What's more, the guns, sails and even materials on the Great Galen ship are an additional input, and those sailors and merchants who come from far away can also become valuable resources.

Of course, the veterans are not idiots, with the size of the Galen ship satellite detection is not feasible, the vast sea is like a needle, only by waiting for the rabbit on the channel can a few more points, fortunately, the Hong Kong reporter on the terrain sonar and weather radar are complete, this time to go to sea there is also the additional task of measuring hydrology and warning storms, so as not to be attacked by the opposing veterans.

The San Bernardino Strait, located at the northern tip of Samar Island, is the gateway from the South Pacific to Manila, and is only 10 nautical miles wide enough for unmanned aerial vehicles to and fro. But even so, the power carried by the ship is only enough to support about half a month at a time, so there is not enough time left for it.

In addition to Yangzhou, the other five people on the ship were all busy, and they did not slack off at all, and Sun Liangyu was one of them.

As the technical leader of the team, whether it is surveying hydrology, instrument reconnaissance, or even meteorological survey data, he is all summarizing here, but it is easier for Yang Zhou to be a hands-off shopkeeper, and Yangzhou can board this ship completely because he is the owner of this ship, and participating in the action is the price of using this ship as a senate.

The plane rose high into the air, turned a corner and flew away, allowing its vision to extend further to the turn of the sea and the sky, and it was still much easier to search for a large Galen ship at sea. After all, this place is not the main shipping route of the Philippine Islands, neither the Chinese nor the Visayans will suddenly appear here, otherwise the Fubo army would not have spent a long time detouring 1200 nautical miles to set up an ambush, but Sun Liangyu felt the need to reconnoiter to the west, maybe he missed something.

But after all, many days have passed, and there is no trace of the big ship, which inevitably makes everyone on board a little discouraged.

Among the crowd, only Yangzhou can still enjoy life with vigor.

The buoy quickly sank down and bounced up, and after three times the line was finally straightened.

Seeing this, he excitedly turned the winch, and with great effort, he finally pulled the hooked fish out of the water, which was a large eastern star spot, and the body size was about two catties. Yangzhou lifted the fish with one hand, and the red scales shone brightly under the sunlight. Just as he was appreciating the harvest, he suddenly saw a small dot rising on the sea level in the extreme northeast, and he couldn't help but open his eyes wide and look at it a few more times, and suddenly a burst of ecstasy welled up on his face......

…………

"You suggested the name of the ship? How did you pass it? ”

"What? Is there anything wrong? ”

After the Dragon Boat Festival, they set out from Princesa, crossed the Sulu Islands from the Sulawesi Sea in southern Mindanao, entered the Pacific Ocean, and then sailed north to the east entrance of the San Bernardino Strait, where they had assembled on a deserted island in the north of Samar Island for four or five days.

According to historical data, the first silver galen to arrive in Manila this year was on July 4, but there are two problems.

The first is whether the process of this time and space will change because of the appearance of the Senate, but fortunately, through the spies in Manila and several Chinese businessmen who traveled between the Philippines and Cebu, they have received positive information that Silver Galen has not yet entered the port, so at least there is still a chance, and it will not be a trip in vain like last year.

The second is that the Spaniards' historical documents only show the time when the ships arrived in the port this year, and even if they did arrive on time, the results of the voyage would vary greatly depending on the day and where. Fortunately, there is a general range of time, even compared with previous years, it should not deviate too much, just look at the distance of the search.

Fang Cai Xi Ya's words were not directed at the Hong Kong reporter, it was Yangzhou's private property, and he had no right to ask, but the name Shi Yu was indeed a little auspicious.

Wen Desi said with a smile: "The naming of the new battleship must be determined according to the ranking of "Water Margin", isn't everyone already knowing? Why did you think to ask now? Shi Yu is naturally taken from Song Jiang, and as for the word "shooter of your ship", it is Xiao Li Guanghuarong. ”

Xi Yaya was a little annoyed, "Lao Tzu knows this allusion, you can also call it Baoyi, this unlucky name is really unlucky." ”

"Why is it so bad? During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the rain was unscathed. ”

"It's that the friendly army is gone, did you consider Lao Tzu's feelings when you said this?" Xi Yaya was angry and funny when he heard this.

The two warships that went north to hunt this time -- the Shiyu and the Shooter -- were both important results of the shipbuilding program launched by the Navy the year before last.

This warship, which was built on the basis of the famous 90-day gunboat (note: 90-day gunboat) in the North during the American Civil War, was named after its rapid construction period of 90 days, and its relatively cost-effective use of resources was unanimously favored by the Senate and the Navy.

The ship has a total length of 48 meters, a width of 8.5 meters, a displacement of nearly 700 tons, a maximum load of 500 tons, and a maximum draft of less than 3 meters can sail stably in most waters of the South Sea.

In addition to being used to pave the road, the asphalt extracted from the coal tar is used as the outer coating of the ship, which is not very good-looking, but it is waterproof and durable, and it has a unique charm. After Gu Ziming got copper from Japan last year, he added a layer of copper below the waterline to prevent the erosion of aquatic crustaceans.

Shi Yu and Kirin are the first two ships to be completed, with the beginning of the successful experience, the back of the Bajia Bay shipyard is four at the same time to start construction, now in addition to the two ships of Raptor and Long Whisker that are still being outfitted, the first twelve Tiangang-class cruisers have been completed.

Although the combat power of this ship is not in the eyes of the veterans, it is quite impressive at this time. The power is a mixture of sail steam, two three-masted sails and a single-engine propeller propelled by a 500 horsepower steam engine, and the power provided by a 'Suiren B' fire-tube boiler can ensure a stable output pressure of 3.5kg/cm² to ensure that the ship can move forward at a maximum speed of 10 knots.

The latest mass-produced 'Zhurong B' naval gun (note: according to the 130mm Dahlgren front-loading rifled gun, it is more stable than the Armstrong gun, has a lower failure rate, and is lower than the multi-rifled design cost of the Armstrong gun, so the navy has changed to a new prototype after many trial production comparisons) is symmetrically arranged in the bow and stern of the warship along the central axis of the plywood, and the four 'Zhurong A' secondary guns (note: according to the 75mm Dahlgren front-loading rifled gun) are divided into two sides and four ' The Houyi A' machine gun (note: according to the Belgian Montigny machine gun, 37 rounds, rate of fire 200 rounds per minute) as a supplement.

The powerful firepower is enough to ensure that there is no comparable naval combat unit in this time and space, and this attack on the far sea also has the meaning of training in passing.

Wen and Xi, as the captains of the two ships of this formation, are both high-ranking and low-level, all because of the importance they attach to the operation this time, and it is also to ease the contradictions between the navy and the army; after all, the beginning of this operation will probably last until September or October, and the Spanish Galen who came from the Americas will not want to reach the port of Manila.

Looking at the warships in the bay, Wen Desi's heart was surging, and he wanted to say something to Xi Yaya, but Lin Shenhe of the Fubo Army came in a hurry.

Before the people arrived, they shouted at the two of them: "The Hong Kong reporter sent a message, and the target appeared in the northeast." ”

Wen Desi was about to get up when he heard this, and Xi Yaya had already jumped up from the hammock.

"Quick, blow the rallying trumpet, copy the guy's ......"

"All boarding ......!!!"

[Note 1: The Viceroyalty of New Spain and Peru in the Americas should actually be the vice-royal district, and the Viceroyalty of the Philippines is a subsidiary administrative region of New Spain, and its supreme governor is the Philippine Governor's Office and the Prosecutor's Court.

[References]

1、《Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450-1680》Anthony Reid

2, "Sea Language" Huang Zhen

3. "Nanyang Yearbook"

4. "A Preliminary Study on Zheng He's Spread of Islam in Java and Other Places" by Xu Younian

5, "Emperor Ming Shi Law Record" Chen Renxi

6. "Zhucheng Weekly Consultation" is strict and simple

7、《The Rise of Ayudhya》Charnvit Kasetsiri

8, "History of Overseas Chinese in Nanyang" Chen Bisheng

9、《Chinaese in Southeast Asia》Victor Purcell

10. "A Brief Discussion on the Conflict between China and the European Powers on Southeast Asian Affairs in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" He Aiguo

11. The Influence of Chinese Immigrants on Southeast Asian Languages and Daily Life in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries by Zheng Fuhong

12、《Statistics for Ship Arrivalsand Departures 1565-1815（by Year and by Decade）》

13、《Alphabetized List of Galleonsand Other Ships(withvoyagedates)》

14、《Summary In form ation of Galleon Arrivalsand Departures 1565 through 1815》

15、《The Manila Galleon》Jason Schoonover