Shen Yourong's flagship, the "Zhenhai" named by the emperor himself, is not the largest in the navy, but it has the highest comprehensive data.

The long sea life has made Shen Yourong more than eighty years old, and he can still stay on the ship for a long time. Even, when I sleep, without the shaking of the hull, sometimes I have insomnia.

Tomorrow is the day to set sail and sail straight to Luzon, and the final military meeting is being held on the ship.

There were not many Spaniards in Luzon, and there were only a dozen warships plus armed merchant ships, which were not at all the opponents of the Ming navy.

Although the emperor said revenge, Shen Yourong and other generals regarded this as a meritorious work to expand the territory. As long as there are no accidents at sea, there is absolute certainty of capturing Luzon.

"When merchant ships enter the port, the Spaniards are easy to expose flaws if they check it." Shen Yourong shook his head lightly and vetoed Gan Hui's suggestion, "Our army has an absolute advantage in strength, and it should be the safest to win it with strength." ”

Gan Hui's suggestion is also good, let the merchant ships enter the port of Luzon first, and the merchant ships will ambush elite soldiers, or disguise themselves as sailors. After entering the port, you can sneak attack the Spaniards, which can get twice the result with half the effort.

Shen Yourong explained with a smile: "Long live the words, win in the most secure way." The more sophisticated the plan and the more links there are, the more likely it is to have surprises. ”

As he spoke, he looked at Gan Hui and said, "What our army needs most is the training of actual combat, and this is a good opportunity." ”

"The last will understand." Gan Hui bowed down to be taught.

Shen Yourong nodded, stroked his long beard and said, "The most important thing is actually to send the marines ashore, three thousand troops, enough to crush the Spaniards." I heard that their phalanx is very powerful and famous, Zheng Zhihu and Hong Xu, you should not be careless when fighting. ”

"Don't worry, the last general knows all about Spain's reality and has carefully studied their phalanx." Zheng Zhihu bowed down and said, "If they open up to fight, they will definitely lose." ”

For the conquest of Luzon, the emperor attached great importance to it.

The Marine Corps will also be the main force of the Ming Empire's territorial expansion, and it is even better equipped.

Even the Mini gun, which was very difficult to make, was named Thunderbolt by the emperor himself, and a hundred branches were also distributed. This is the first time that this equipment has been equipped, and other troops do not have this treatment.

The Spaniards built batteries in the harbor with about twenty guns. Compared with the artillery held by the Ming army, it is obviously at an absolute disadvantage.

However, Shen Yourong's plan was to move both land and sea, and the fleet bombarded the batteries with artillery, striving to destroy them in the fastest time.

The Marines landed in small boats on the bay, outflanked the harbor batteries, or attacked Manila directly.

To this end, the navy has also specially built flat-bottomed clippers suitable for beach-grabbing landing, similar to the centipede boats used in offshore waters, and they can paddle very quickly.

With the number of Spaniards, it was impossible to control Manila Bay. Even if the naval fleet did not attack well, the landing force would be enough to defeat the Spaniards.

As for the Spanish phalanx, it was indeed famous, but the times were different, and the changes of flintlock pistols and bayonets to war were obviously not something that the Spaniards could adapt to and master.

In fact, the final military discussion was just an emphasis on repetition. All units of the operational plan are already extremely familiar with each other, and they have conducted actual combat drills.

This is the first major operation of the navy to attack the city and seize the land, the emperor attaches great importance to it, how dare Shen Yourong and the generals slack off?

How much real money is thrown in, they know in their hearts. The more you invest, the greater your expectations, as long as you are satisfied, you will be promoted to the knighthood.

At least, it is certain that Shen Yourong can be knighted. Moreover, this is likely to be his last battle, at such an age, even if the emperor wants to use it, Shen Yourong also feels a little powerless, and he will have to submit his resignation after the war.

It's just that who can replace him is a big question.

In order to catch up with the world trend, Shen Yourong held the emperor's will and vigorously recruited and promoted young generals.

Although now generals such as Zheng Zhihu, Gan Hui, and Hong Xu have grown up and have actual combat experience. But in terms of age and seniority, being a naval commander is still almost there.

And if you are transferred from the military department or martial arts, you lack actual combat experience, and you may not be able to get along well with these young generals.

The emperor was a little worried, and so was Shen Yourong. The navy that had been built with great effort was handed over to incompetent officials, the emperor was not at ease, and Shen Yourong was also distressed.

Zheng Zhihu, Gan Hui, Hong Xu and other young generals also saw such a situation, and they were all trying their best to perform, and the conquest of Luzon was the best opportunity.

In fact, according to seniority, the current commander of the East China Sea Fleet, Zhang Keda, should be a personal choice. It's just that in the emperor's eyes, the lack of actual combat experience is his hard wound.

Moreover, Zhang Keda still has his own tasks and is working hard to complete them.

In the port of Busan, more than 50 warships of the East China Sea Fleet are docked in the port, and on the shore are neat houses, with dormitories, warehouses, and watchtowers.

Through negotiations with the imperial court, the Donghae Navy leased the port of Busan as a transit point for its march to Sakhalin.

Qingdao or Tianjin, Lushun, Phi Dao, Busan, Vladivostok, Sakhalin, this is the pioneering road of the East China Sea Navy planned by the emperor.

Although compared with the warships and strength of the South China Sea Navy, the East China Sea Fleet has only more than 100 warships, and the Marine Corps has only 3,000, and the total strength is only 20,000.

But in terms of warfare, there are very few. Even anti-smuggling and theft arrests are becoming less and less.

Although the emperor also had an envoy to the East China Sea Fleet, there was no too tight time limit, and the East China Sea Fleet basically took care of it itself.

Zhang Keda was also a steady general, who participated in the Pingliao War, but he mainly transported men and materials, and did not have the opportunity to fight a naval battle.

Therefore, he was steadily advancing northward step by step, gradually realizing the emperor's vision.

Half of the port of Busan was leased to achieve military management, and Zhang Ke sent ships while stockpiling supplies, and even went to sea by himself to explore the way to the north.

As the spring warms and the ice melts, Zhang Keda will set off again with his ship to explore Vladivostok and report to the imperial court about the possibility of establishing a naval base in Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is located on the coast of the Golden Horn at the tip of the Amur Peninsula and extends inland from southwest to northeast. The bay is surrounded by low mountains and hills, and the situation is dangerous, which can be regarded as a natural harbor.

This was the result of the first inspection by the ship sent by Zhang Keda, but Vladivostok also had a problem, that is, it was not an ice-free port. From mid-December to March, there is a frost period of more than 100 days.

If in the future, with the help of icebreakers, it can be used to assist navigation. But in that era, it was tantamount to closing the port and cutting it off from the outside world.

In addition to exploring Vladivostok, Zhang Keda also inspected the estuary of the Tumen River and strived to open up the sea route to eastern Liaodong.