Luzon, Manila.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Manila was just a large Muslim Malay village. Because it is located between the Passy River and Manila Bay, this place is extremely strategic. At that time, merchants from Arabia, Daming, India and the Malay Archipelago came here to do business.

Later, the Manilans came here, and after learning of the abundance, they went to war several times, and finally seventy years ago, the defeated natives were forced to cede control of Manila to the Spanish expedition.

The Spaniards called Manila the capital of the Spanish East Indies and built a star-shaped fortress in Manila. Covering an area of nearly 1,000 acres, the Wangcheng District is surrounded by stone walls that are more than two meters thick and more than six meters high.

After more than 70 years of development, Manila City has become the center of the Spanish East Indies and the base camp of their rule over the Philippine Islands. Intramuros is the administrative, military, and religious center of Manila, with streets, forts, churches, and schools.

However, because Spanish law stipulates that only legal Caucasian people can live in the Intramuros. At that time, only male Caucasian people could marry non-Caucasian women, and it was impossible for female Caucasian people to marry non-Caucasian people. However, children of mixed race born to male Spaniards and local women were not allowed to live in the royal city.

The only exception is that of mixed Malay and Han Chinese are allowed to enter Intramuros for work reasons, but these people must also return to their homes outside Intramuros at sunset.

Manila, which was under Spanish control, practiced racial discrimination everywhere, and not only did it massacre Han Chinese several times. And it's the same discrimination in taxes, where white people are exempt from paying taxes. However, the local indigenous Malays are required to pay a basic tax, while the mixed Han Chinese have to pay twice the basic tax, and the pure-blooded Han Chinese have to pay four times the basic tax.

The Spaniards of Manila call the Han Chinese biological people, and these Han Chinese and Han Chinese mixed ancestry, which they are deeply wary of, are the basis for Manila's rapid development for decades.

The once thriving Little Luzon Manila. It was established by the blood and sweat of the Han people.

But now, Manila is no longer bustling.

The blockade strategy of the East Indies implemented by the Spaniards, the Dutch, and the British did not block the Han in the slightest, but instead led them into a terrible abyss.

Now they are blocked by the Great Han.

The fortress of the royal city of Manila in the city is still so strong and tall, but there are not many Han people of mixed race to work during the day, and even in the city outside the royal city, there are few Han people to be seen.

It turned out that a large number of Han people have left in recent years.

Not long ago. A fleet of the Great Han suddenly appeared, landed from nearby, and picked up many fleeing Han Chinese and Han mestizos. At that time, the Spanish governor sent people to intercept them, but many people were killed by the bombardment of Han warships, and they had to retreat to the city.

Since then, more and more Han Chinese have fled, they have fled into the forest, into the wilderness. In short, he insisted on not working for the Spaniards anymore.

There were even Han Chinese who conspired to seize the fort and respond to the Han army's entry into Hong Kong and capture the city.

The angry governor was immediately furious and frightened. A massacre order was issued.

Just as the Spaniards immediately launched a massacre when they heard that the Wanli Emperor had sent someone to Luzon to explore the silver mines, slaughtering tens of thousands of Han Chinese.

The Spanish governor was also terrified of the Han Chinese, and finally came to strike first. Manila's few remaining Han Chinese were slaughtered.

Even the mixed Chinese did not let go, and after killing those biological people, the Philippine governor was finally able to sleep peacefully.

But wake up. He immediately realized that something was wrong.

The Han fleet came again, and this time they sent marines to land near Manila, sweeping all the Spanish villages, estates, and workshops outside the city along the way, and capturing everyone who could see them.

In the end, the Han fleet was just like that outside the port of Manila. The harbor was blocked, and no ships were allowed to enter or leave.

Although Manila has grown after more than 70 years of development, it is still a trading port city, and the royal city of Manila is strong in defense, but on the outside, it is still very backward.

Moreover, Manila's defense is very strong, but there are not many warships, and the royal city of Manila and the outer city live on foreign goods. Now the Han not only swept away their manors and workshops outside the city, but even blocked their port, which made Manila a dead city all of a sudden.

The Han people did not enter the port, but they could not get out either, let alone supplies.

The Han fleet, whether it was from Tainan, Guangzhou, or Hainan, was not far from Luzon Manila, and the Spaniards found themselves to have made a big mistake compared to the Spanish mainland on the other side of the world.

They also look at the Han with the eyes of the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Han's reaction was far more fierce than they expected, and the strength of the Great Han Navy was far greater than they expected.

But if the Philippine governor knew that the Han fleet blockading the port of Manila was just a detachment of the Han Empire, I don't know how he would feel.

At this time, it was the Seventh Fleet of the South China Sea Fleet of the Han Dynasty that was blocked in the port of Manila, under the personal command of Liu Yunwen, the commander of the fleet, the main fleet composed of six battleships and 24 cruisers, and dozens of other ships.

The Seventh Fleet received an order to completely blockade Manila, and to blockade it for a long time, to seal off the Spaniards in Manila, in order to cooperate with the blockade of Batavia by the Eighth and Ninth Fleets led by Liu Yunsheng, the governor of Nanyang.

Manila's defenses were strong, and the Seventh Fleet could not easily seize the port. But the Seventh Fleet did not need to attack at all, it was enough to blockade the port, and if the Spaniards dared to go out of the port to fight, they would not be able to ask for it. If they don't come out, trap them.

It was enough for the Seventh Fleet to blockade Manila Bay.

Manila is bordered by Manila Bay in front and the Inner Lake in the back, connected by the Percy River, and the city of Manila is built on the river between this bay and the Inner Lake. In the narrow strip of land between the bay and the inner lake, Manila sits in the middle.

Such terrain for the Seventh Fleet, which is going to blockade Manila. It's ideal.

"The Marines have already built forts on both sides of Manila, and as soon as the forts are completed, the city of Manila will be a dead city at that time, with the sea in front and the lake in the back, and our forts on the left and right. They won't even be able to roll over. Cut off their communication with the island, and then cut off from the sea, Manila has a strong fortress defense, but we can only starve to death. ”

The chief of staff said to Liu Yunwen.

"There are more than 30 ships of all sizes in the port of Manila, including ten warships equivalent to our third-class cruisers, and there are also a lot of armed merchant ships, and other merchant ships can also be armed, which is also a large force."

The deputy commander laughed. "But we have more than a hundred ships, especially our six battleships, which are far superior to the Spaniards. As long as we don't drive the ship under the shore defense guns of their port fortresses, they are not our opponents at all. ”

The Marines had taken this into account when they built forts on both sides of Manila, as the forts were far enough from the coast to be out of range of the Spanish guns. These two forts of the Marines were only to blockade Manila and get support from the interior of the island.

Block both sides. Cut off the Passy River, and Manila becomes an isolated city.

Long siege. It has always been an enduring ruthless move in military history. Especially against Manila, a Spanish overseas colony, surrounded on all sides, it is a complete isolated city.

The siege of the city is extremely fierce for the besieged side, and it is also a big consideration for the besieging side, the siege of the large army requires a large amount of grain and grass equipment, etc., but these problems are for the Seventh Fleet. Not a big problem. Their home port is in Dongxing Port, Guangxi, which is only more than 3,000 miles away, and supply is not a problem.

It's been three months.

Food in the city of Manila is getting scarce, and the Spaniards are getting desperate. For three months, not a single ship could enter the port of Manila. None of the boats could rush out. Even their intention to send troops inland in search of food was beaten back by the Han army's marines.

Not only was the Han navy much stronger than theirs, but even the damned marines had a lot of firepower, and they tried to attack several times but failed.

If this continues, they may really starve to death in Manila.

"It was reported that the patrol boat had spotted movement of the Spaniards and that their boat was leaving the port."

In the captain's room of the flagship stern of the Seventh Fleet, Liu Yunwen is playing chess with the chief of staff, which is also one of the daily activities to pass the time of boredom.

"Damn, the Spaniards finally can't help but come out?" The chief of staff, who has always been polite and polite, has been squatting here for three months, and he has long run out of patience. As soon as he heard that the Spaniards had finally moved, he immediately threw the pieces in his hand onto the chessboard.

"Chief of Staff Gao, you are taking the opportunity to cheat, two more steps, and I will win." Liu Yunwen said with a smile.

"I get tired of playing chess every day. Damn, Hongyi is finally willing to come out. ”

Liu Yunwen reluctantly threw away the chess pieces, "Let's go, let's see if the Spaniards are going to fight or surrender." ”

The drums of war preparedness had already been beaten, and all warships of the fleet were making urgent preparations for war.

Six battleships, including the flagship, were in a line, and as long as the Spaniards dared to come out, that one cannon could make the Spanish battleships want to die.

In Liu Yunwen's telescope, the shadow of the Spanish fleet finally appeared. The Spaniards finally seemed to be unable to hold back, and more than thirty large ships, along with hundreds of small boats, sailed together.

"Didn't the Spaniards intend to attack ships with fire? It's whimsical to get so many little sampans. The head of the Seventh Fleet stood next to Liu Yunwen, and when he saw the Spanish fleet, he couldn't help but laugh mockingly.

On the scale of the Seventh Fleet, the Spaniards wanted to attack ships with fire, and there was little chance of success. They can't get close at all.

The Spanish fleet was getting closer and closer, no more than a few miles away.

"Send a signal to the ships, the whole fleet is ready for combat at the first level, adjust the course, seize the upper hand, and prepare to shell the Spaniards."

Liu Yunwen put down the binoculars and gave orders to the ship's deputy with a relaxed smile on his face. Liu Yunwen is not the first naval battle, he was able to be the dean of the Royal Naval Academy in the past, in addition to being the emperor's cousin, it was also because he also worked in the Beiyang Fleet back then, Liu Yunwen is not the first time to fight with Spain, the battle of the chicken coop that year, the Spaniards once served as his defeated generals.

"Ten large warships, more than twenty armed merchant ships, more than a hundred fire attack ships, the Spaniards are pouring out, and in a moment we have captured our prisoners." After the deputy commander finished speaking, he disembarked with several other senior officers of the fleet.

During the battle, the senior commanders of the fleet will try to avoid being on the same ship, lest the commander have an accident if the ship is hit.

The fleet commander, deputy commander, chief of staff, chief of staff, etc., will be scattered on different ships, and even if they are on the same ship, the captain, the captain, the captain, the chief gunner, etc., will not all be in the same position during the battle.

Half an hour later, the Spanish fleet finally came.

It's a pity that they are already at a disadvantage.

The Seventh Fleet had formed an engagement line, and the cannons had long been aimed at the Spaniards.

However, Liu Yunwen was very calm, although the guns on the battleships had a long range, the farther the distance in naval warfare, the lower the hit rate, especially for naval guns, sometimes even if they hit, there would not be much damage, so they had to get as close as possible, and use the thirty-pound cannons on the bottom gun deck to bombard the opponent's waterline position to seek maximum damage.

"Today's wind and waves are not strong, the weather is good, which is very good for us, and the bottom gun deck can be fired at full power." The gunslinger was pleased with the weather today.

The Dahan battleships with three gun decks were all giant ships with more than 90 guns, but the position of the lower gun windows of this kind of battleship was low, and when there was a strong wind and waves, the gun windows were easy to get into the water, which would make it difficult for the largest guns at the bottom to shoot.

However, in naval battles, these cannons at the bottom are the largest in caliber and have the longest range, and because they are at the bottom, they are also easy to hit the opponent's waterline and cause the most damage to the enemy ship.

If it was a strong wind and waves, the lethality of Dahan's six battleships would have to be reduced by at least half.

In this respect, the Spaniards have made a big mistake in playing today.

"A thousand meters away!"

The flagship of the Seventh Fleet, General Flying General Li Guang, raised the signal flag to start the battle.

"Let's get started!" When Liu Yunwen shouted this, the knuckles of the hands holding the telescope turned white due to excessive force.

The ships fired shells at the Spanish fleet in turn, and this was only a test fire, but the start of firing from a kilometer away still startled the Spaniards a little.

"These damn Han Chinese, are they showing off or are they stupid? How did you start firing so far away? ”

The naval battles that the Spanish naval officers were accustomed to were to gain the upper hand, then try to get as close as possible, and when they were only three or four hundred yards from both sides, they would bombard with all their might, and use piles of shells to hit the opponent until they sank. (To be continued.) )