In the Red River Delta region of Vietnam, the colonization activities of Xujiazhuang and Zhengjia in Fujian were booming.

December 15th.

Hainan Island, Yazhou Port (i.e. Sanya Port, later Sanya Port).

The naval fleet led by Xu Huoqing, a full six steam ironclad warships, stopped in this port for a short time, replenished some water and vegetables, and immediately set off and headed straight for the southeast.

The three-cylinder steam engine has reached full capacity, outputting more than 7,000 horsepower, driving the six ironclad warships of Yaowu, Yangwei, Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea, Tianxia and Invincible, running at a maximum speed of nearly 20 knots.

He didn't even care about the weather in the South China Sea, didn't think about whether he would encounter a storm, and completely ignored it and headed towards Luzon.

Even the 38 plywood ships sent by the Zheng family in Fujian to help in the war have long been left far behind, and with the average speed of the Zheng family's fleet only 6 to 8 knots, I don't know how long it will take to catch up.

Speaking of Xujiazhuang's naval fleet, what are you doing in such a hurry?

Even the original colonization plan from near to far, step by step, was disrupted, and had to deal with the Spanish colonial forces first, and there was no delay for a moment.

What the hell is going on?

Quite simply, it's leaked.

Xujiazhuang's plan to colonize the southeast and sweep the South Seas had been known to the Spanish colonial authorities in Manila, who immediately took countermeasures and were mobilizing all the forces they could to concentrate to avoid being swept away.

But here's the problem.

Spanish colonial powers, how could they get the news so quickly?

Although two months ago in October, Xu Jiazhuang announced in the "Oriental Times" that he was going to colonize overseas, and everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew about it, and there was no intention of secrecy, but Manila was the closest place to the Ming Dynasty, there were thousands of kilometers, and it would take half a month to take a boat, and there should be no eyes and ears sent by the Spaniards in the Ming Dynasty, let alone high-tech communication equipment such as radio.

How the Spaniards learned about Xujiazhuang's colonization in just two months and responded quickly was beyond Xujiazhuang's expectations.

The cause was quickly investigated.

Snitch.

It was the Portuguese in the Xiangshan Concession in Guangdong, when they saw the content of the "Oriental Times", Governor Ricardo felt bad, and immediately sent a number of clippers, unloaded all the goods, and drove empty, to Manila (the Spanish colonial center), Batavia (the Dutch colonial center), and Malacca (the Portuguese colonial center) to carry out ventilation and inform all the Western colonial forces in Nanyang that they were ready for war, and even had to put aside internal contradictions and jointly deal with the threat of Xujiazhuang. If they do not unite again, they will lose all their interests in the South Seas.

It was under the signal of Governor Ricardo that within a month, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal all got the news, immediately paid attention to it, and took action.

And for Xujiazhuang, leaking secrets is leaking, the impact is not very big, even if the colonial forces in the Nanyang region all reacted and started war mobilization, it would not hurt, with the strength of Xujiazhuang's naval fleet, no matter how much sea surface forces were gathered, it was the end of being crushed and destroyed.

However, the Spanish colonial authorities in Manila began to mobilize for war, not to mention that they were afraid of the rebellion of more than 10,000 Han Chinese in the city, and actually planned to raise the butcher's knife again, and slaughtered all these Han Chinese before the arrival of the Xujiazhuang naval fleet to eliminate internal hidden dangers.

This is beyond the tolerance of Xujiazhuang.

You must know that since the 31st year of Wanli (1603), the Han merchants in Manila have never been treated fairly after the first massacre and bloodbath, only more cruel exploitation and prevention, and in the fourth year of the Apocalypse (1624) and the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), they have been subjected to many premeditated and systematic massacres, even if the Han people have made fierce resistance, they have also brought huge losses to the colonists, and even the Spanish colonists know that the prosperity of Manila is inseparable from the participation of these Han people. But he still raised the butcher knife again and again, and he never relented.

Because the Spaniards were afraid, they were terrified in their hearts.

Now Xujiazhuang's revenge is coming soon, like a certain boot has landed, since this is the case, then there is no need to be soft, the last batch of Han people, no, fat sheep, can also be slaughtered, even if most of them are trustworthy, even if some Han people have converted to their master, but they still have to be killed.

Xujiazhuang's intelligence officers stationed in Manila reported that the massacre was most likely to take place in these two days, and that it would not drag on the 18th at the latest, and the later it was, the more dangerous it became.

At this time, the top management of Xujiazhuang could only adjust the plan and make two arrangements.

First, let the Zheng family in Fujian help send 3,000 troops, go straight to Xiangshanao in Guangdong, take down all the Portuguese, kill all those who dare to resist, and destroy the concession area occupied by Western colonial forces.

The second is to let Xu Huoqing take the naval fleet and rush to Manila as quickly as possible, and try to arrive before the massacre to eliminate the Spanish colonial forces.

……

December 16th.

Luzon, Manila City, a colonial city that has been established for more than 60 years, has a developed economy, prosperous commerce, a lot of Western Gothic buildings, fountain parks, and very spectacular and holy Catholic cathedrals, and even stone roads, drainage facilities, etc., reflecting a lot of unique architectural aesthetics of Western civilization, the atmosphere is beautiful at the same time, but also practical.

"Green Sword Fairy"

Walking up and down the street, there are white noble women wearing top hats, lace umbrellas, and long tunic skirts, if they see a man of higher status walking by, they will gracefully pick up their skirts and salute, and they can be seen to be very cultured, even though this is a colony far away from the center of Western civilization, they still maintain their elegance and beauty.

But in the eyes of Xu Yucheng, an elite intelligence officer sent by the Xujiazhuang intelligence department, for Manila, a beautiful city with a population of less than 100,000, he has only felt two words in the past few days: weird.

Eerie tranquility.

Eerie slaughter.

It's like a storm is coming.

The Spaniards are going to make a move, and from this special atmosphere can be dangerous.

Xu Yucheng bribed a gypsy cook in the governor's palace by spending money and bribes, and learned from his mouth that the governor Ramos Cueva was going to take action against the Han people in the next few days, saying that he could not give the Han people a chance to attack inside and outside, and he must kill no Han people before the arrival of the Xu family's fleet, whether it was the elderly, women, or children, all of them were slaughtered.

Disastrous.

This important information made Xu Yucheng feel terrible, and immediately sent this information to Xujiazhuang by telegram, and then asked the three subordinates to immediately go to the residential areas of the Han people to inform them of the news, so that all the Han people could be prepared, or find a way to escape, if it really didn't work, find a hidden place to hide, and they all have a certain chance of survival.

Soon, the contact point of the merchant hall and the three subordinates returned one after another.

"Boss, I went to inform the Han people residential area in the north of the city, the old and young people over there have begun to collect weapons and materials, preparing to resist, and they don't plan to escape, because the indigenous savages outside the city are all on the side of the Spaniards, and the end of escaping from the city will definitely be death, it is better to stay in the city and fight, as long as you hold on until the reinforcements arrive, there is hope of survival." Subordinate Tang Xulong said.

"Good! It's okay to stay in the city and fight, as long as you hug together and consume the time of the Spaniards, you will definitely be able to hold out until the reinforcements arrive! Xu Yucheng nodded in approval.

"Boss, I went to the Han gathering area in the west of the city, but the Han people here, most of them are rich businessmen, and they have the most dealings with the Spaniards, and they also listen to the Spanish the most...... Boss, these people are asking for money and risking their lives, and they are still hoping for luck. Subordinate Meng Xianglin said.

"Hehe, businessmen are this virtue, they don't believe it, forget it, when the butcher's knife falls, they will regret it." Xu Yucheng shook his head and sneered.

"Boss, no! The Spaniards began to do it, to kill our Han people, the fault lies with me, I notified the Han people in the south of the city, should not be soft-hearted, and also told the news to Pastor Chen, who believes in Catholicism, I think Pastor Chen is a good person, usually take care of me, so I want to show him a way to live, I didn't expect that I just told him on the front foot, and he told the Spaniards on the back foot, resulting in the Spaniards having to do it in advance, blame me, blame me! ”

His subordinate Hu Wen rushed into the house in a panic, reported a shocking news, and kept beating his chest, feeling regretful.

"You, you're so bad, that Pastor Chen has already been baptized, and he hasn't sided with us for a long time, and you dare to inform him?"

Xu Yu was so angry that he wanted to kick this bastard to death, and scolded him angrily: "Do you know how many Han compatriots you will kill? ”

"I was wrong, I was wrong!"

Hu Wen burst into tears and slapped himself repeatedly.

Huhuhu~ The sound of the whistle outside the house sounded.

The sound of neat steps is getting closer and closer.

His subordinate Meng Xianglin immediately pulled Hu Wen up and said, "Don't blame yourself, let's go quickly, otherwise we will all be killed!" ”

Tang Xulong looked at Xu Yucheng and asked, "Boss, where are we going to escape?" ”

"Go to the Hanmin district in the north of the city!"

Xu Yucheng thought for a while, quickly opened a box on the table, revealing that there were twenty grenades neatly stacked inside, and said, "Take five for each person, save a little, four of them will be given to the enemy, and the last one will be kept for yourself." ”

"Yes!"

The four of them divided the grenades, left through the back door of the merchant house, ran wild through the chaotic streets, and soon arrived at the Han-epitek residential area in the north of the city.

But Manila City is not big.

In the sound of neat footsteps.

Thousands of Spanish infantry, divided into four standard phalanxes, pressed from four directions, towards the Han residential area, and the eyes of each white soldier were extremely bloodthirsty and greedy.