Chapter 195 [Ambitious]

In March 1629, Anna's uncle, Marquis Fernando, visited the capital. He did not visit Anna, but reported the situation of the Ming Navy with Xu Guangqi. The Portuguese hoped to help the Ming army improve their military strength without reservation. This was done in order to of course allow the Ming army to go to Europe as soon as possible to clean up Spain. The Portuguese not only wanted to get rid of Spain, but also had the ambition to include Spain in their national territory.

The Marquis of Fernando provided a lot of astonishing information that Spain had a plan to invade the Ming Dynasty a long time ago.

In 1580, King Philip II of Spain, as the nephew of King Manor of Portugal, concurrently served as the king of Portugal and formed the "Invincible Armada", making Spain the first maritime power in Europe. At that time, Portugal had already established a colonial foothold in India, occupied Malacca, and conquered the Philippine archipelago. At this time, the Spanish colonists had the intention of using the Philippines as a base to conquer the Ming Dynasty.

Marquis Fernando said: "When the Spaniards came here, they wrote to Philip II that it would take less than sixty good Spanish soldiers to conquer and suppress the Ming Dynasty. ”

The translator was Long Huamin, and a Catholic church had been built in the capital, which made him very satisfied, and he was even more motivated to translate.

"Chongzhen" listened unhappily and said: "According to your description, the territory of Spain is not as big as one of our provinces, so you want to conquer the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Ao Bai laughed and said: "They probably don't know the number of Han people, everyone spit ...... together No, spitting is too unhygienic, and throwing dandruff at everyone together can crush them to death. ”

Hearing this, everyone laughed and did not take Spain seriously. Only Fernando has an ugly face, after all, Portugal is not as good as Spain now.

The vast land and abundant products were the most important reasons why Spain wanted to invade the Ming Dynasty. The Spaniards had long begun to actively investigate and analyze the national and popular conditions of the Ming Dynasty, and to conduct reconnaissance along the coast of Fujian, familiarize themselves with the waterways and draw maps.

The Marquis of Fernando recounted their plans in detail.

The heads of the Spanish colonial government in Manila, church dignitaries, high-ranking military officers, and other prominent figures convened the Manila Assembly to discuss the conquest of the Ming Dynasty. The participants drafted a memorandum containing 97 articles in 11 paragraphs, led by the Governor and Bishop of the Philippines, and gathered 51 dignitaries to sign and report to the King of Spain. First of all, the plan stresses the need to make a good mobilization for war. The Spanish colonists in the Philippines sent representatives to Spain to give the king a detailed introduction to the situation of the Ming Dynasty and urge the king to make a decision on the invasion of the Ming Dynasty.

The expeditionary force was planned to consist of between 10,000 and 12,000 Spanish soldiers, plus 5,000 Japanese who wanted a piece of the pie. The commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force is the governor of the Philippine Islands. The army consisted of gunners, armorers, and Mauser gunners, among others. The crew of four galleons was dispatched, along with three or four gunsmiths, and twelve craftsmen of weapons and fire throwers, a number of craftsmen who could make asphalt, and shipwrights who could build galleons on the high side. In addition, Philip II ordered the Viceroy of India to send five hundred slaves and send an officer to Japan to recruit troops through Japanese priests. The Portuguese were also required to participate in the expeditionary force, as the Portuguese occupied Macao and had experience in this area. The Spanish Expeditionary Force found four routes to attack the Ming and believed that the best route should be through the Strait of Magellan.

The plan also mentions issues that should be paid attention to in the war. The number of Spanish and Portuguese armies must not be too small, otherwise they will be surrounded. At the same time, it is prudent to choose the candidates for the expedition, change the previous mode of aggression——— and not reduce the population of the Ming Dynasty, and the disappearance of the population means the disappearance of wealth. After the invasion of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming government was retained in order to maintain its prosperity and wealth. Let the people who participated in the expedition know that this expedition was not to deal with the enemy, but to be able to preach freely in the Ming Dynasty. The invasion of the Ming Dynasty should be done in a cautious and gentle manner, and too many crimes should not be committed against the people of the Ming Dynasty.

The plan emphasized that after the invasion was successful, Spain could use the materials obtained in the Ming Dynasty to attack its own enemies. Daming could also provide crews to Spanish sailing ships, and Spain could obtain gold, raw silk, silk, and exquisite handicrafts. The king of Spain could receive a large amount of taxes and profits from the Ming Dynasty. After the conquest of the Ming Dynasty, Spanish officers and soldiers could be promoted, and many Spaniards could settle in the Ming Dynasty and receive knighthoods.

The central part of the plan is how Spain will rule the Ming Dynasty after the war. The plan first emphasized the establishment of a large number of schools to inculcate Spanish culture in the Ming people; the establishment of a large number of churches and monasteries, the spread of Catholicism, and the introduction of the Spanish way of life; It is necessary to appease the peasants and stop the spread of other sects in the Ming Dynasty. fifty-eight archbishops, bishops and one archbishop were established in the Ming Dynasty; the establishment of a new military system of taxation; Establish a series of titles, such as dukes, earls, and marquises, and appoint four to six governors in the Ming dynasty, like governors of the fifteen provinces, with the same powers as governors of other colonies; Rapprochement with the Mongols of the North, striking at Turkey. Establish a postal route from Daming to Spain overland. After the conquest of the Ming Dynasty, India could also be guaranteed profits from goods from the Ming Dynasty, which was important for India's colonial rule. Establish dominion in the vassals of the Ming dynasty to establish alliances and trade. The Ming people would be able to sail to colonies such as Peru and Spain, and the relationship between the Ming and the Spaniards would be further consolidated. Spain could use the Ming people as their colonial labor to enter the Philippines and develop the island. The occupation of the Ming also prevented the French, British, and different religious and northern countries from coming to the Ming Dynasty.

The plan also suggested that Spanish citizens marry Ming women and raise mixed-race offspring to rule the Ming dynasty. The combination of the Spaniards and the women of the Ming Dynasty created suitable men for priests and missionaries, as well as for government officials and military positions. The kinship and interest groups formed by these people would consolidate Spanish rule in the Ming Dynasty.

The officials felt a chill down their spines when they heard this. Ao Bai smiled and said: "Great plan, and it is also a little close to my idea, it is clear that we should send people to those colonies and find a road to the west on land." But only if Spain is destroyed by us. The reason why they haven't implemented this plan so far is because of the United Kingdom, right? ”

After Long Huamin translated, Fernando nodded and said something.

Britain achieved rapid growth through enclosures, bloody legislation, and overseas plunder, while at the same time a strong desire to expand outward. This expansion clashed fiercely with Spanish interests, leading to a war between the two sides.

The Spanish "Armada" set sail from Lisbon for an expedition to England. At this time, the "Invincible Armada" had a total of 134 ships, more than 8,000 crew members and sailors, more than 2,000 oar-swinging slaves, and 20,000 infantry on board. The two armies fought fiercely in the sea northeast of Calais, France. Due to the poor organization of the Western Army, the Armada was shattered, and only 43 wrecked ships returned to Spain, which ended in a crushing defeat.

The crushing defeat of the Armada was a turning point in the decline of Spain's national power. To make matters worse, after the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, their national power continued to rise, and they competed with Spain in various fields. When it came to Asia, it became Spain's second largest competitor, thus holding Spain's power at bay.

The war with the Anglo-Dutch left Spain to take care of itself, and Philip II was reluctant to get bogged down in a long war with the Ming in Asia. Under these circumstances, Spain's plan to invade China had to be put on hold.

Even so, when the Ming Dynasty was dealing with the drought in Shaanxi last year, the Spanish governor in Manila sent warships to Huwei on the northwest coast of Taiwan to build the city of Santo Domingo.

The Ming army was preparing for a decisive battle with the Eighth Banner Army, so it turned a blind eye to Spain's invasion of the north coast of Taiwan. Aobai's idea was to wait for them to build the city and when all the evidence was conclusive, they would not be able to eat and walk around. The premise was that the Ming fleet could sail to Europe.

After Long Huamin finished translating, Li Biao said: "If a small country wants to invade the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to do it, right?" Is the European threat exaggerated? ”

No one had been to Europe, they didn't know what was going on there, but Ao Bai knew something. He smiled and said: "Lord Li, there have been wars between European countries recently, and there is no time to fight the Ming Dynasty. If they unite in Europe and unite to invade the Ming Dynasty, what will we do? The marquis also said just now that Japan's invasion of Korea during the Wanli period was actually a deliberate invasion of the Ming Dynasty, and a projectile effect had the ambition of developing and invading abroad. But we don't want to forge ahead all day long, and we are complacent, and in a hundred years, we will be overtaken by other countries. Now is a great time to expand abroad, what are you waiting for? Since the Spaniards want to hire our people to run the colony, everyone has money to spend. It is better to go as they wish. ”

They didn't invite you over. Several important auxiliary ministers heard Aobai's words and had black lines on their heads, but the Ming army defeated the Eight Banners Army with 20,000 troops, and it seemed that they really had the strength to get involved in foreign countries.

Ao Bai asked again: "Our Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, and we didn't want to fight, but Spain went to Taiwan to build a city without authorization, illegally occupied our Ming territory, and provoked first...... Marquis Fernando, how many people are there in Taiwan? ”

After listening to the translation, the Marquis of Fernando said that there were about fifteen hundred people. Ao Bai was immediately happy, and 1,500 people dared to call themselves "cities"? There are more people in Daming than this township. This is purely an old birthday star hanging, and he is afraid that his life is long.

"How's my Daming's fleet now?"

Xu Guangqi said: "The craftsmen sent are very quick to learn, and under the guidance of experts, they can already build a large ship of the same level as the Portuguese, but they have not yet been able to form a fleet, and I hope to expand the investment in the navy." ”

Ao Bai looked at "Chongzhen" and made a look.

"Chongzhen" immediately patted the case and said: "Quasi-play, I believe in Taifu." How can a small country be allowed to do whatever it wants at sea? ”。.。

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