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James has been in the British fleet since he was eighteen years old, and now he is eight years old, and he can be said to be familiar with naval warships. The group of battleships in front of you is obviously a copy of the British battleship, although the appearance has changed, but the overall structure can still clearly see the style of the British battleship. Robert and James reacted almost at the same time that the ships were not Xiang, but were built according to the drawings of British battleships. The largest of these in front of me is a third-class battleship, and it is estimated that some British nobleman should have sold the blueprints to this highness in the East. But the person who sold the drawings was quite sensible, and he did not sell the blueprints of the main battleship, that is, the battleship of the second class and above.

In fact, their guess was very close to the truth, but they did not expect that the power of money is infinite, tens of thousands of taels of gold, converted into pounds are more than 100,000 huge amounts of money, and Wood Charles has already sold all the drawings to Fujian. Wood-Charles also knew that the East was too far away to pose a threat to Britain. Besides, building a ship is not an easy task, and even if it is built and a navy is formed, it will only pose a threat to Spain and the Netherlands, which occupy the eastern territory. Gain your own benefits and create difficulties for the enemy country at the same time, killing two birds with one stone!

In terms of numbers, the warships anchored in this Mawei military port are almost on the verge of reaching Britain's largest Munch fleet, but the Munch fleet has 12 first-class warships, 30 second-class warships, 52 third-class warships, and 70 other fourth-class and fifth-class warships. On the other hand, in the Mawei Military Port. Four detachments were moored here, as well as the command fleet of the Zhenyuan. In total, there were only thirty-six third-class warships, and the others were all fourth-class and fifth-class warships. James believed that his own fleet must be much stronger than the Mawei Navy in front of him, not only in terms of the size of the warships, but also in terms of his confidence in the well-trained and huge navy. I heard that the Mawei Navy has only been established for more than three years, and it has not experienced a major war, so the real combat power will be discounted a lot.

Moreover, Britain was not the only one with the Munch fleet. There are two other slightly smaller fleets, and the overall naval strength can be regarded as the strongest in Europe today, but the Netherlands is not much worse. The Mawei Navy in front of him can completely dominate in the East, if there is no fleet from other countries to drive in. But look, the horsetail admiral not far away seems to be very strong, and from James's point of view, he definitely belongs to a battle-hardened veteran. Seemingly. This navy is not bad!

In the middle of the sixteenth century, the Englishman Walter. Sir Reilly hit the nail on the head: "Who controls the sea?" That is, the control of the trade; Whoever controls the world's trade controls the world's wealth, and therefore controls the world. After that, Britain began to embark on the path of colonial contention. In the second half of the 18th century, Britain became the most powerful colonial empire in the world, establishing colonies on all continents of the world, known as the empire on which the sun never sets. At this moment, although the political situation in Britain is often turbulent, this overseas development is basically a national policy, and there is no wavering, and the British navy is also strong. James looked at the rise of a powerful navy in this distant distance, and the first thought was that this navy would be their ally, and then he thought that in the future, this fleet would also be their enemy.

It is said that the East is full of gold and is very rich. It is a fact that so many warships were built in only five or six years from Mawei. If it is another ten or twenty years, I am afraid that their naval strength will surpass that of Britain. Although thinking of this, James immediately suppressed this thought in his heart. The world is so vast, and the East and the West are so far apart, since there is no conflict with them in Britain, and it brings huge benefits to Britain at the moment, what do you want to do so much!

Wang Zhenbang led many admirals to guard the dock, stood for a long time, and at almost ten o'clock faintly heard the sound of horses' hooves. Gradually, the sound of horses' hooves became clearer and clearer, as if the thunder was constantly coming towards the Mawei Military Port. Although Geng Jingzhong and the others did not go straight to the dock, but stopped at the gate of the naval barracks first, the expressions of all the generals became happy. The sound of horses' hooves coming from the direction of Fuzhou in the west was obviously the arrival of the prince. At this time, there was such a dense sound of horses' hooves, who else but the prince? Sure enough, as soon as Geng Jingzhong and the others turned the corner and arrived at the gate of the barracks, they also saw it. After Geng Jingzhong and Robert came down, they walked towards the dock on foot. Anyway, it's just more than 300 meters away, and although it's an open space, horseback riding is not allowed.

"The prince has arrived!"

"The prince has arrived!"

The generals standing in the front row whispered in a low voice. Then the generals behind also knew about it, and the generals who had stood for a long time and felt a little tired suddenly perked up, and each puffed up their chests, they didn't want to let the prince look down on them. Besides, if there are any British people who will inspect with him this time, if he loses face to the prince, then he will not be able to stay in the Mawei Army anymore.

When Geng Jingzhong and a few people approached, all the generals saluted together, and after the ceremony, Wang Zhenbang stepped forward and reported: "Report, there are two hundred and fifty-six officers above the naval colonel level in Mawei, and there are actually two hundred and fifty-six, please review it!" ”

"Take a break!"

"Stand upright!"

"Very good, these two are British envoys next to me, and they will choose a few warships to visit at will, and the officers of which ships will be responsible for accompanying and explaining, do you understand?" Geng Jingzhong asked loudly to more than two hundred people.

"Understood!"

The generals replied in unison. At this time, the generals were a little lucky, they had been going to sea to hunt whales until a month ago, Geng Jingzhong ordered to stop, and the army was regrouped for war. Some time ago, because he went out to sea to hunt whales every day, and often caught other sea fish, there was always a fishy smell on the warship. Although the sea breeze is also slightly fishy, it is comparable to the fishy smell on this fish. Even though the officers and men cleaned the deck every day, there was still a lot left. Until the recent month. The sun is blowing, the wind and the rain. Only then did the fishy smell on the battleship disappear.

Because there will be another big war. Therefore, the amount of ammunition of various colors on the warship is not as small as that of whaling. The number has doubled several times compared to the recent training, because what they are about to face is not a pull, but a real battle. Although the enemy they have to face has not yet been clearly stated by the prince, and the strength is not known, but after the battle starts, the amount of ammunition consumed. There is no exact number for the time being. Therefore, in terms of ammunition, it is still necessary to prepare the most adequately. Be prepared! In addition to ammunition, Huang Dazhong has already begun to stock up on more fresh water, food, and medicine in accordance with Li Guangdi's orders, and make the best preparations. Some naval officers and sailors even wrote their wills in advance at this time.

"Your Highness, your fleet is so good, it seems that the two of us are really just watching from the sidelines." Robert waited until Geng Jingzhong finished speaking, and then said with a smile. This sentence is indeed from the heart.

"Hehe, the envoy has won the award. Far worse than the British Royal Fleet. It's not the same thing at all. Geng Jingzhong said modestly. In fact, although the Mawei Navy is much worse than the British Navy in terms of size, it is not necessarily much worse in terms of combat power. With the horsetail army ahead of the European artillery by one level, the gap between the warships can be leveled. After speaking, Geng Jingzhong made a gesture of please and asked them to choose the battleship they wanted to see. "You can review it as you like. Please! ”

Robert and James are not hypocritical, this is not to let the battleship sail to the open sea to exercise, just to board the battleship to see the internal situation. Geng Jingzhong didn't hide it at all, the battleship was originally learned from the British, and the drawings of the British battleship were also used, but it was only slightly modified on this basis. They couldn't see anything from the structure of the battleship alone, and even if they were masters of designing and building battleships, they had to look carefully step by step to discover the advantages of this horsetail battleship. Besides, the cannons on the ship, judging from the appearance, do not fire the range of the cannons, and those cannons in Europe are no different.

Robert and Jaime boarded the nearest third-class battleship to them, which was the Yongfu starting with the Fu Zi, and the three huge Chinese characters on the hull of the ship showed its identity. The battleships in Mawei were all red, and from a distance, each battleship looked like a ball of fire, and if they rushed up, they would burn the enemy. The third-class battleship Yongfu was the command ship of the Fifth Fleet, and the soldiers on it immediately stood up straight and waited for the review when they saw the chief general leading a few British foreigners up.

After Robert, James, Geng Jingzhong and others watched the naval warship, the two of them returned to Great Kinmen Island with their entourage. There were only twenty-two British warships, and there were only 3,000 sailors who came over this time, and all their supplies were provided by Geng Jingzhong, and of course, James they had to pay the bill. Greater Kinmen Island is only separated from Xiamen by a small waterway, and it is convenient to transport materials in a short time. The outside world did not know that thousands of British soldiers had come here, and they only thought that the Mawei Navy had patrolled and gone to Great Kinmen Island to rest temporarily, and this kind of thing happened more than once. The battleships of the Mawei Navy and the British warships were no different except for the color of the hull, which made them even more confusing.

Twenty days later, on the first day of the seventh lunar month, the city of Manila on the distant island of Luzon in the South Ocean was still calm. The Spaniards would never have imagined that Geng Jingzhong, thousands of miles away, was preparing to send troops to attack here. In the Haijia Manor for more than a month, the soldiers still insisted on daily training, but they would not shout slogans as loudly as in the tail of a horse. The manor of the Hai family is located five kilometers outside the city of Manila, although the manor covers an area of thousands of acres, but the formation of thousands of people shouting will definitely attract the Spanish defenders.

Here, these 1,000 soldiers have not fired a single bullet for more than a month, and they just take a little time every day to aim with their guns in their hands, and pull the trigger without reloading the bullets. Most of the time is spent training in other disciplines, such as running in circles, climbing, obstacle courses, etc. Here the Hai family is also making great efforts, the Haijia manor is big enough is one, the Hai family's warehouse has enough grain, other fish, meat and vegetables are produced in the manor, and if it is not enough, it will be purchased from the outside, and it has not aroused any suspicion from the outside world for a month.

Manila is a city with a rich history. On the basis of Indian civilization, Chinese civilization and ancient Central Asian civilization, it has integrated Western civilization in Spain in the past 100 years, forming a culture that combines East and West. Just one hundred years ago, in 1571, the Spanish colonizer Rigasby landed here in Manila. Invaded and occupied the Philippines. Then in downtown Manila. Castles and forts were built on the south bank of the Bashi River. Since then, it has been the capital of the Spanish colonial authorities.

Manila, or Luzon Island, is very close to the equator, and it is precisely because of this that it has a monsoon tropical rainforest climate, with high temperatures and rain, high humidity, and the land on the island is except for a few plains. The rest of the place is full of dense forests, and a large number of animal and plant resources grow in the forests. Even many natives living here do not have to work too hard at all, and the naturally produced food alone is enough for them to live, without worrying about hunger, which is much better than China, which is still at the end of the Xiaoice period.

Manila has been occupied by Spain in the past 100 years, so it has been called "Little Luzon" since the Ming Dynasty, and Spain was also very smart in the past, and has sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty many times, if there are no massacres of the Chinese in Luzon, the Jiajing Emperor will let them continue to pay tribute. It is allowed to trade with China. They don't do as well as Portugal in this regard, and Portugal isn't a thing though. But after they occupied Macau, they were still very honest, and their main purpose was to trade.

From the map, outside of Manila, south of Manila Bay, this is a natural harbor, the location is very good. The Port of Manila can be said to be the gateway to the entire Philippines, but its geographical location does not enjoy a prominent position in the global east-west trunk route or the north-south trunk route. As a result, Manila's potential as an international container hub port in future generations is very limited. Although it is nothing in the 21st century, it is one of the best treasures for this era.

Today's weather is good, and there is not a single cloud in the blue sky. It looks very transparent, if you stand on the seaside and look into the distance, you can only see the sea and sky in the distance, and you can't tell where is the sea and where is the sky? Adrian yawned and came to the harbor, and although the sun had not yet risen in the east, the morning in Manila was already very hot in the city of Manila in July, and although he was wearing only a single coat, he could not help but sweat a little.

"Damn weather!" Adrian cursed in a low voice, although no amount of scolding could make the weather cooler, but it was better than doing nothing. Adrian is a minor official in the port of Manila, mainly responsible for providing fresh water to some ships in the port, after all, the ships coming and going have a great demand for fresh water, and almost every ship needs to fill up the fresh water after docking at the port, so don't look at his official size, but he is very busy. Of course, there is a lot of oil and water in it, at least his monthly income can not only easily support the whole family, but even raise a Chinese wife outside. The Chinese woman has a gentle personality, delicate skin, and a good face and figure, which makes him often intoxicated and gentle, and last night he spent the night at the house of one of his little wives.

Thinking of last night's romantic affair, Adrian couldn't help but hum a little song, speaking of which their Adrian family is also a famous nobleman in Manila City, and more than fifty years ago, their family produced a famous character named Danny. Adrian, who once served as the Spanish vice-governor in Manila. At that time, the Adrian family was infinitely beautiful, but unfortunately, by their generation, the Adrian family was also weakened, and he was not a descendant of the family, so he only got such a petty official with water supply from the port. But this is already good, and the children of some families can't even get an official. In the end, he could only drum up some goods and sell them to the passing maritime merchants to make a living.

I saw Adrian humming a little song to the east side of the port, which is the area where he is in charge of water supply, although the Adrian family is weak, but after all, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, the port that Adrian is in charge of belongs to the best section of the port of Manila, the berth is large and deep, very suitable for docking large sea ships, and the berth here is almost never empty. The larger the sea ship, the more people on board, and the greater the demand, which can be described as a fat gap for a petty official like him.

In the past, every time the Kunpeng fleet arrived, it would dock here first, and Adrian was quite familiar with the people in charge of the Kunpeng caravan, especially Xu Shan, the head of the Kunpeng caravan in Manila. Every time the Kunpeng caravan arrived, Xu Shan would definitely come to meet him, so Adrian had a deep memory of Xu Shan, and he also received a lot of rewards from Xu Shan. Early this morning, Xu Shan came to the dock with the staff of the merchant hall. A thousand soldiers had slowly infiltrated the city since a few days ago, and when they heard his signal, the soldiers and the Hai family and other armed men launched together to take down the governor's palace, warehouses and other important institutions.

"Yo, isn't this Director Xu of the Kunpeng Commercial Pavilion! Rare guests, what's the matter, the Kunpeng caravan is arriving here again? No, it's been less than two months since the Kunpeng caravan left the docks, so it should take a while to arrive! Adrian took the initiative to greet Xu Shan and was courteous. Although the Spaniards look down on the Chinese, Xu Shan is his big benefactor, and Xu Shan is generous and generous, and he stammers a few words, both good and bad.

Sure enough, Xu Shan also responded eagerly: "Good morning, Lord Adrian, you started working early in the morning, hard work!" My Kunpeng caravan has already arrived today, half a month earlier than usual, so I'm going to trouble you again! It's a little interesting, and I hope to laugh at it! As he spoke, he took five gold coins from his sleeve pocket and brought them to Adrian's hand. This gold coin is not minted by the Fujian Mint, but a gold coin minted by the Spaniards, this gold coin is equivalent to eight Fujian silver dollars, and five of them are given out at once, which is a big deal.

Adrian opened his palm, and the five gold coins greeted the morning sun, emitting an intoxicating light, and he was immediately overjoyed: "If Manager Xu has any orders, just say that if I can do it, I will do it with all my might." ”

"It's not troublesome, it's just that the goods transported by our Kunpeng caravan this time are relatively valuable, and some of them are not suitable for being exposed to the public, so I brought the guys from the merchant house, so I don't need these workers at the dock, and I ask the adults to help, and there will be a big thank you afterwards!" As he spoke, he patted Adrian's right hand holding the gold coin. (To be continued......)