The Kingdom of Sulu is a Celestial Sultanate centered on the Sulu Islands of the Philippine Islands, with territory including the Sulu Islands and Palawan, with its capital on the island of Hole in the Sulu Islands. Its geographical location is very important for the Ming Dynasty, which has entered the Age of Discovery!

Because the sailing ship returning to Daming from North America has two options when it travels west along the North Equatorial Warm Current to the vicinity of the Philippines, one is to turn back to the north and find the Japanese Warm Current to go directly to Japan or Shanghai; The second is to enter the Sulawesi Sea and the Sulu Sea to the west, enter the territory of the Sulu State, and stop at Hele Island, and then go to the port of Guangzhou.

In addition, the Makassar Strait, which is located next to the northeastern part of Borneo controlled by the Sulu State, is also an important waterway for the Ming Dynasty to the Spice Islands!

If the Ming fleet had attacked from Sulu and had passed through the Makassar Strait, it would have appeared directly near the Spice Islands, the most valuable asset of the Dutch East India Company!

The Ming army didn't have to occupy it, it only needed to destroy the spice crops on the Spice Islands to inflict heavy damage on the East India Company!

Although the Ming court has always maintained friendship with the East India Company, it does not mean that it does not need to have the "ultimate weapon" against the East India Company.

And the inclusion of Sulu in the Celestial Empire system would allow the Ming to have a sharp weapon against the East India Company.

It is precisely because of the sensitivity of the Sulu issue that the Ming Dynasty has always had reservations about signing the "Treaty of Clans" with Sulu and did not sign it immediately.

However, reservations do not mean inaction. A group of advisers, including more than a dozen army and navy officers, arrived at Hole Island, the capital of Sulu, in the winter of the eighth year of Hongxing, and set up an advisory office on Hole Island, which was actually an intelligence gathering station, and its main task was to keep an eye on Manila Bay.

The royal family of this Sulu country is an alien Arab trader, but most of the people in the country are indigenous to the Philippines, although they were called Moros by the Spaniards, but the indigenous people of Luzon are no different, but they believe in the Heavenly Religion.

Therefore, it is easy for spies from Sulu to be sent to the vicinity of Manila to find out the news, especially now that there are no Chinese in Manila, and the Spaniards can only hire natives to work, so they can't be too picky.

Zheng Jiangong, the naval envoy, took over the topic and said: "Your Majesty, according to the report of Yamen, the adviser to Lehe Island, in May, June, and July of the sixth year of Hongxing, Spanish warships and armed merchant ships entered Manila Bay for three consecutive months, and as of July 10, the number of Spanish warships and armed merchant ships gathered in Manila Bay has exceeded 20!" ”

"There are 20 ships? That's a lot! Zhu Cihong frowned, "What kind of ship are they?" What is the state of armament? ”

"I don't know." Zheng Jiangong said, "Manila forbids the Chinese to enter, and the Molo spies don't know much, they can only count them, and they don't know anything else. ”

Zhu Cihong took a breath: "What does the Navy Division mean?" And what is the opinion of the Dongning Army? ”

"Only to fight!" Zheng Jiangong said, "If you don't fight...... The navy would not be able to safely transport troops to Siam. ”

Zhu Cihong asked: "Will it be intercepted by the Spaniards?" ”

"Not really," Zheng Jiangong shook his head, "The Nanyang shipping lanes are open and the climate is changeable, so it is very difficult to intercept them on the shipping lanes...... I can't find it at all! ”

This is not the time to search with airplanes and radar! It was very difficult for the two sailing fleets to encounter each other in the South China Sea. Generally speaking, naval battles that meet on narrow routes take place on major sea routes, such as the English Channel and the Strait of Malacca.

It is for this reason that Japan's position in the Mingxi Pacific Naval War is very important!

Once the Ming Dynasty received the support of Japan, it could send a steady stream of emigrant fleets to the New World.

It is impossible for the Spanish Navy to find the Ming fleet, which is smaller than a leaf, in the boundless Pacific Ocean, that is simply looking for a needle in a haystack!

"Can't intercept?" Zhu Cihong asked, "Then how will the Spaniards fight?" ”

"Their fleet will be hidden in the waters near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River in Siam," Zheng Jiangong frowned, "If we are going to send troops to Siam in a big way, we will inevitably send one or two hundred troop transports and dozens of escort ships."

It is impossible to load and unload so many ships at once, and there is no well-guarded anchorage at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Therefore, a large number of ships will be forced to anchor on the sea that is difficult to defend, and the flotilla at anchor will not be able to maneuver, so it will not be able to launch an artillery formation and seize the firing position, which is very dangerous!

He studied the examples of Western naval battles and found many examples of sneak attacks on anchorages and great victories. And the Battle of the Dons, which caused the decline of the Spanish Navy, was also an anchorage sneak attack. One hundred and seventeen Dutch ships attacked seventy-seven Spanish ships at anchor, sank forty-three, severely damaged twenty-seven, and only seven Spanish ships evacuated in time. And the losses of the Dutch were only ten arsonist ships! ”

The Battle of the Downs, which took place in 1639, is a heroic deed that all Dutch who participated in the war can boast of for a lifetime!

The foreign education in the Shanghai Naval Academy is basically from the Netherlands, and almost all of them have participated in the Battle of Downs...... So now these students of the Ming Navy know how the Spaniards vomited blood to the Dutch!

"How is the Navy going to deal with it?" Emperor Zhu asked.

"First strike!" Zheng Jiangong gritted his teeth and said, "Hit Manila Bay!" ”

"Fight Fort San Diego?" Emperor Zhu asked.

"It doesn't have to be!" Zheng Jiangong said, "We only need to destroy the Spanish fleet anchored in Manila Bay, and we don't need to besiege the San Diego fortress. ”

The San Diego Fort is also a bastion, and although it is not fully completed, it is still quite difficult to fight. Even with parallel engineering and large-caliber flowering shells, it would probably take several months to get their hands on them.

And it will not be easy to send 10,000 or 20,000 troops to Manila Bay and let them stay there for a few more months, and the navy will have to send at least dozens of 10,000-stone big bird ships to transport troops, equipment and supplies...... At the same time, the navy also has to transport troops and equipment to Siam, which may be a bit too busy.

Therefore, in Zheng Jiangong's vision, it was the warships that raided Manila Bay, and at most they would only lead a small number of elite marines to grab the fort.

"Did you beat it all?" Emperor Zhu was still a little skeptical, "The anchorage of the Spaniards must be under the protection of the battery, can our gunboats get close?" ”

"Yes!" Zheng Jiangong said with great certainty, "It's nothing more than a bigger loss...... However, only if you can wipe out the Spanish fleet in the East, even if you can wipe out the entire Oriental fleet, it is worth it!

And the navy has a killer weapon in its hands, so it will definitely be able to defeat the Spaniards! ”

......

"Your Excellency! Debelasco reports to you! De Belasco, the commander of the fleet of the Spanish Pacific Trading Company, walked briskly into the command room of the New Spain and saluted Admiral García of Spain.

Admiral García and de Berasco are also old acquaintances, because De Belasco also participated in the Battle of the Downs - the Battle of the Downs Anchorage cost the Spanish Navy 6,000 men, and a generation of elites was almost non-existent, so those who survived were all acquaintances.

"I've finally looked forward to you!" Garcia smiled and beckoned to him, motioning for him to sit down and speak, "Tell me about the Flying." ”

The only thing that really scared Garcia was the Flying!

"Admiral," said de Velasco, "when I left Pusanpo with the fleet, it was still operating in the vicinity of Japan, and there was no sign of leaving. ”

"The Chinese didn't intercept when you left?" Garcia asked.

"No," de Velasco said, "we are flying the Spanish flag this time, and Spain and the Ming are not officially at war, so they will not intercept it, and we will not attack the Ming fleet while the Spanish flag is flying." ”

The war between the Ming and Spain did not break out, and the two sides only attacked each other under the banner of others.

Garcia paused and said in a low voice, "His Majesty the King has given the order to go to war...... So we can start first! ”

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