November of the fifth year of Chenghua.

At this time, it was already cold and windy, but Shandong, Guangdong, and Fujian coasts were still in full swing, and with Liu Juntao's invitation to Emperor Chenghua, the imperial court had issued a mobilization order, ready to mobilize a large army to go out across the sea, take Luzon Island in one fell swoop, and occupy the city of Batavia!

This news swept the entire Ming Empire like a hurricane, the expedition to Luzon Island is a great war that China has never had, the Chinese army has had the feat of sealing the wolf Juxu, there has been the heroic expedition to the west of the Western Regions, there has been the agitation of the Eastern Expedition to Korea and the bloody battle against Japan, but there has never been a great battle of boating out to sea and winning thousands of miles of blue waves!

And now, with the official decree of Emperor Chenghua, and with Liu Juntao's all-out deployment of troops, this great war has begun to mobilize, and the sharp war machine of the Ming Empire has once again burst out with huge potential, which not only makes the entire Ming Empire enthusiastic, but also shocks the countries and ethnic groups around the Ming Empire!

It didn't take long for the news that the Ming Empire was preparing to attack Luzon Island to reach the city of Batavia, and the Dutch in the city were immediately frightened, and everyone originally thought that even if the Ming Empire won the naval battle, it would never attack Luzon. Because the Dutch at this time still believed that no matter how strong the Ming Empire was, it was still an inland empire, and the attention of the entire empire was not on the sea, but on the land to the west and north.

But now, the news of the Ming Empire's expedition has spread all over the world, it can be said that everyone knows, all the impossible news has become a reality, all the Dutch in Batavia were stunned, they only reacted at this time, it turned out that they did not know anything about the Ming Empire in front of them, and the Chinese nation that has existed for thousands of years.

Cowens, who led the remnants of the fleet back to Batavia, was disgraced, and in the face of the floating hearts in the city, Covance cheered up and issued the news of martial law throughout the city, and began to send soldiers and horses outside the city to collect food and supplies, capture slaves, and prepare for the defense of the city.

At the same time, under the premise that the naval fleet was heavily damaged, Covance also sent four fourth-class battleships to return to the mainland in four ways, preparing to break through the blockade of the Ming naval fleet, send back the news that the Ming Empire was about to attack Luzon, and at the same time ask for help from the mainland.

However, when the four fourth-class battleships set off, they were like mud cows entering the sea, and there was no more news, and Covance didn't know if these four battleships could break through the blockade of hundreds of Ming Navy warships, so he could only prepare patiently for the battle of defending the city.

Turning around, the details of the Ming Empire's preparations for the expedition began to spread to Batavia City one after another.

These messages were secretly sent by Japanese and Portuguese merchants, although they were not very detailed, but they could also reflect the determination of the Ming Empire to go on this expedition to a certain extent.

"The Ming Empire has begun to requisition transport ships in Shandong, Guangdong, Fujian and other places, and now it is said that thousands of large ships have been requisitioned by the Ming court......"

"The Ming Empire has mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to assemble ...... in Shandong, Guangdong and other places"

"Now the money, grain, and ordnance from all over the Ming Dynasty have begun to be transported to the seaside provinces, and it is said that the road leading to the seaside provinces is now full of convoys and soldiers, and countless artillery and muskets have been transported to the assembly place to equip the soldiers of the army to be recruited......"

One news after another, Cowens, who was desperate to get the news, did not feel the expected joy, but felt a chill to the bone, and a desperate fear.

At this time, Covance was a little envious of Fan Zerui, who had returned to his homeland to face trial, at least Fan Zerui could not face the overwhelming army and fleet of the Ming Empire.

Covance even thinks that if such a powerful military force of the Ming Empire is placed in Europe, it can definitely sweep all European countries!

"What should I do?"

Covings asked secretly, but he didn't have any answers, so he could only continue to consolidate Batavia's city defenses, keep gathering troops, and keep hoarding supplies, just hoping that the mainland could receive the news, and that the mainland could send a huge fleet to help Batavia City as soon as possible.

Another year passed in a blink of an eye, and it was March of the sixth year of Chenghua at this time.

According to Liu Juntao's unified arrangement, at this time the warships of the entire Beiyang Fleet had already been assembled at the Andongwei Naval Base in Shandong, and the East China Sea Fleet, the Bohai Sea Fleet, and the Yellow Sea Fleet had all been fully organized, and the Middle East Sea Fleet was carrying out blockade missions near Luzon Island, while the Bohai Sea Fleet and the Yellow Sea Fleet were preparing to go south to Guangdong and Fujian to carry out escort missions with all their might.

In Guangdong and Fujian, the Ming court has requisitioned more than 2,700 sea ships, almost all of which have been newly built by the people and government of the Ming Empire in recent years and can sail to sea.

In addition to transporting the officers and men of the Longxiang Army, the Trapping Army, the Tiger Army, the Eagle Yang Army, the Zhechong Army, and the Vietnamese Cavalry Army, these sea-going ships also need to transport the grain, grass, supplies, weapons and ammunition needed by the officers and men of the large army, and the more than 2,700 sea-going ships will form a huge transportation chain connecting the coastal areas of Guangdong and Luzon Island on the vast sea, and make every effort to ensure the logistical supply of the expeditionary army.

At this time, the various matters of the expedition have been completed, and after such a long period of change and rectification within the Ming Empire, all aspects have been on the right track, and then they only need to follow the steps step by step.

Moreover, even if there are still some contradictions and undercurrents within the Ming Dynasty at this time, with the expeditionary army imminent, this great war has also attracted the attention of everyone and all forces, so that the eyes of the entire Ming Empire are gathered on Luzon, and everyone is watching the expeditionary army!

Seeing that he was ready, Liu Juntao played Emperor Chenghua and prepared to go to Luzon Island, and he was also ready to go to Guangzhou City to sit in the town, so as to command the frontline battle nearby and provide logistical support for the soldiers of the expedition.

Emperor Chenghua immediately approved and set up a banquet at the palace gate to see off Liu Juntao.

After Liu Juntao said goodbye to Emperor Chenghua, he rushed all the way non-stop, and it took only 17 days to rush to Guangzhou City. When Liu Juntao settled in the yamen of the Guangzhou prefect, the whole person had already lost a lot of weight, and his face was full of exhaustion, but his eyes contained irrepressible excitement.

Taking Luzon Island, although it can only use the silver ore and sweet potato resources there now, it can reserve a treasure land rich in strategic resources such as oil and rubber for the Ming Empire!

Facing the chief officers of the Tiance Army who had gathered near Guangzhou City, Liu Juntao said loudly: "In this battle, I just want to take Luzon Island at all costs, and this battle will open up the foundation for China for all generations!" Although Luzon Island is still a burden to the dynasty at this time, it will definitely be a great help to China in the future, just like the Western Regions were to the Han Dynasty two thousand years ago! ”

"This battle is not only to take Luzon Island, but also to announce a fact to the world and the sea: from now on, the attack and defense of aliens! From now on, our emperor will sweep away the momentum of success, and re-follow the Han and Tang dynasties to develop at the same time! ”

On this day, the chief officers of all departments of the Tiance Army were excited; On this day, the morale of more than 100,000 Tiance soldiers soared; On this day, the Daming Expeditionary Force is ready for everything and is about to set off!

The words are divided into two ends, one for each table.

Just as Liu Juntao rushed to Guangzhou City, and the various units of the Tiance Army and the expeditionary fleet were ready, the sea off Batavia City was already under artillery fire.

Feng Xiangzheng, the commander of the Beiyang Fleet, led the East China Sea Detachment of the Beiyang Fleet to bombard the seaport of Batavia.

At this time, the nine Dutch warships docked in the harbor had no intention of attacking at all, after all, there were dozens of Ming warships outside, and even if they rushed out, they could only become live targets.

Covance stood desperately in the watchtower in the city, only to see that at this time, not only the entire harbor had turned into a raging sea of fire, but the four batteries deployed around the harbor had no power to fight back, and the Ming Navy only used two salvos to turn these four batteries into ruins, and even the nine battleships docked in the harbor were all on fire, four of which had tilted and were slowly sinking!

"It's over!"

Covance originally wanted to rely on these nine battleships to block the sea route into the harbor, and take care of each other with the four forts that were urgently reinforced and built, and first block the Ming army on the sea, but the cruel facts made Covance understand that all his plans were so ridiculous, and in the face of the strong strength of the Ming Empire, all plans were so pale and powerless!

As desperate as Cowens, there were all the Dutch in the city of Batavia, at this time there were a lot of Dutch soldiers stationed in the fortifications at the head of the city and outside the city, as well as the native soldiers of Luzon, in the face of the powerful firepower of the Ming Navy, these Dutch soldiers and native soldiers were all terrified, and their morale plummeted, and even many native soldiers made a noise, and many native soldiers shouted to escape.

Covance was also shocked when he heard the news, and hurriedly mobilized soldiers to suppress it, but at this time, these native soldiers were still more afraid of the Dutch, and after some suppression, Covance commanded the Dutch soldiers to kill hundreds of native soldiers, calming down this sudden situation.

However, before Covance could catch his breath, he received news that the harbor defenders had fled back.

At this time, hundreds of Dutch soldiers and native soldiers gathered outside the city of Batavia, and were stopped by the soldiers stationed in the fortifications outside the city.

Most of the defenders in the fortifications outside the city were native soldiers, and in the face of the routs who had gone crazy, these native soldiers naturally couldn't stop them, and soon those mostly Dutch soldiers rushed to the gate of the city.

Covins was pale and entangled, he didn't want to let these routs enter the city, after all, it was a great blow to the morale of the defenders in the city, but he couldn't resist the persuasion of the Dutch merchants, missionaries, and noblewomen around him, so he could only order those routs to enter the city.

But that night, these routs who entered the city began to spread the strength of the Ming Navy, and for a while, the hearts of the people in Batavia City fluctuated, and Coventry was also remorseful when he heard the news.