Although retaliation by the Spaniards was unlikely, the Emperor did not take it lightly. And 3,000 well-trained and well-equipped troops were not something that the Spaniards could compete with, thousands of miles away.

What's more, the Spaniards got the news and organized an expeditionary force to rush to Luzon. The Ming forces in Luzon may have reached five thousand, or even more.

Even judging from the strength of the navy, the Spaniards were no match for the Ming navy. The glorious era of having an "armada" has long passed. It is impossible to mobilize the power of the whole country.

Li Dan was also very aware of this, and the regular army stationed in Luzon was not a long-term solution.

Therefore, he purchased 5,000 flintlock muskets and dozens of artillery pieces, and prepared to train at least 35,000 armed men with the help of retired officers and soldiers.

This was not only a possible retaliation against the Spaniards, but also a guarantee for the future development of the foundation. Yan Siqi guessed correctly, one Luzon could not make Li Dan feel satisfied.

Of course, it depends. If Luzon is stable, he will naturally reach out to the other islands. The Emperor had already approved of overseas expansion and would help him.

Li Dan also had a wise understanding that with the population and naval strength of Luzon, it was doomed to leave the support of the mother country, or betray the motherland to stand on its own.

Unless the country weakens and loses control overseas. If this is the case, the interior may be invaded, and what about overseas places?

It is an immutable truth that if you are backward, you will be beaten, and if you are weak, you will be deceived.

The only way to keep the overseas territories or to protect the country from aggression is to start from the ground up and keep the country strong.

Although it is said that the cycle of prosperity and decline is an inevitable law of history, it is still possible to control its decline to a certain extent so that it does not rise from the bottom again.

The emperor's method was to make the cake bigger, and during his reign he brought the Ming dynasty's homeland and overseas territories to new heights.

The purpose of this is to set aside the price to be paid for future decline.

It can be referred to the historical empire on which the sun never sets, although weakened after two world wars, still managed to remain among the world powers, although not the first.

Moreover, the more overseas territories occupied, the stronger the protection of the homeland.

With the size of the population of the Ming Dynasty and the predictable population explosion after the catastrophe, it will not be as unstable as the colonizers, or it can only be plundered for a while, and cannot be firmly occupied for a long time.

At present, the population of the Ming Empire accounts for about one-third of the world's total, but the actual territory is far from reaching the level that matches the population.

The army should already be the first in the world, and the navy continues to grow and develop, so there is no reason not to take the opportunity to fight for a broader living space for Damingzi.

Moreover, the emperor only had his eyes on Asia, and had no intention of entering the world in ten or twenty years.

And the Xiyi, whether it is the Dutch, or the Spaniards, or the British, who have just established some roots in South Asia, are very weak in Asia.

The most important thing is that Xiyi is far away and is focusing on the wealth of Africa and the Americas, and it is impossible to invest too many human resources in Asia.

The opportunity must be seized, otherwise, if the first strike is lost, I don't know how many times the price will have to be paid before it can be regained.

Mekong Province is only a small experiment, and more consideration is given to the food base to survive major disasters. Luzon is an overseas territory in the true sense of the word, and it is the prelude to the expansion of the Ming Empire.

Li Dan and Yan Siqi's boat slowly docked, and the sound of guns and cannons in the distance had already sounded, and the marines began a battle with the Spaniards.

It is rumored that before the "Invincible Armada" was defeated by the British and lost their supremacy at sea, the Spaniards were strong in army and navy, and there were plans for an expeditionary force of 4,000 to occupy the coast of Daming.

Of course, the specific plan was probably to recruit another five or six thousand soldiers from the Wa Kingdom and India as a supplementary force. And, with the goal of Fujian Province.

True or not, the Spaniards' contempt for the Ming Empire is obvious.

However, the Spaniards did not fight the Ming army. Their evaluation of the strength of the Ming Kingdom is still at the level of a few decades ago.

So, despite the fact that the Spaniards lost their supremacy at sea. However, based on the previous misjudgment, when he heard the news that the Ming army was coming to attack, he still drove out of Manila City with great confidence.

In order to adapt to the scale of warfare, tactical changes and further development of firearms at that time, the Spanish phalanx was also reformed, known as the improved Spanish phalanx.

The specific change was a drastic reduction in the share of pikemen and an increase in musketeers, which in general amounted to 25 percent and 75 percent to 75 percent.

In the second half of the 16th century, the Spanish army was once formidable and relied on Spanish phalanx tactics. At this time, Gustav's military reform had not yet been able to shine.

The Spanish army, which numbered only 500 men, formed a phalanx full of confidence and met two marines who had arrived one after another for more than ten miles outside Manila.

The flintlock pistol and the bayonet, a weapon that was decades ahead of the Spaniards, was a gap unknown to the Spaniards.

There were no spearmen, all flintlock muskets with bayonets, and a quarter of a number of heavy muskets. But this was not the sharpest weapon of the Ming army, in addition to rockets, the Mini gun appeared on the stage of history for the first time.

More than two miles apart, the Ming army formed three phalanxes, one large one in the middle, and two small ones on the two wings.

And behind the phalanx, the artillery was nervously and busily laying rocket launchers, adjusting the angles, preparing for an intensive bombardment of the enemy.

The Marine Corps guerrilla Qi Shiguang looked at the Spanish phalanx with a telescope, his face was grim, but the corners of his mouth were slightly pursed, as if he had a little disdain.

The study of the Spaniards, from martial arts to navy, is quite meticulous and in-depth. The emperor also specially explained that the Spanish phalanx was very powerful and had to be dealt with seriously.

Because of this, the new weapon of the Mini gun was issued to the Marine Corps on an exceptional basis. There are only 200 pieces, but it is said that they are the annual output of the Gunpowder and Weapons Division.

Of course, after the actual exercise, the officers and men of the Marine Corps immediately widened their eyes. In terms of range and accuracy, this musket, named the Apocalypse Six, far surpasses the flintlock pistol already equipped.

"Some of them are not martial!" Qi Shiguang shook his head and ordered the phalanx to move forward.

The flintlock pistol has been a generation more advanced than the Spanish arquebus, and the Apocalypse Six is sharper than the flintlock pistol, and this battle has not yet been fought, and the victory is in the hand.