As the so-called side of the couch does not allow others to snore, this kind of resource plundering is also beneficial and harmless to the Ming Dynasty, in this case, why not do it?

Similarly, a unified and powerful Luzon state is not in line with the Ming Dynasty's maritime strategic interests.

What the Ming needed was a Luzon state that was internally divided, checked and balanced, and had no time to take care of the sea.

This is also the reason why Zheng He's fleet did not take any tough measures after taking the city of Manila.

However, to the surprise of the Luzonians, the officials of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be somewhat dismissive of them.

After learning that the Luzon envoys asked to see him, Zheng He did not reply immediately, but said: "Dry him for a period of time first, let him suffer." ”

After learning that the officials of the Ming Empire were not ready to summon him, the envoys of the Luzon State also fell into deep thought.

What's going on, under normal circumstances, shouldn't these powerful big countries stage a drama of humiliating the criminal ministers of small countries? The envoys who were all ready were unable to be rectified for a while.

Da Ming's reaction was obviously beyond his expectations, neither did he appear as expected, nor did he receive him politely and politely, but just left it dry.

Moreover, they were not allowed to snoop on any military secrets, and were almost kept under semi-house arrest in the post house.

But even so, the construction of the city walls of Manila, as well as the huge fleet of the Ming army, which could even be called "covering the sky and the sun", could not hide from the eyes of the envoys.

was left to dry for a few more days, and at this time, the envoys of the Luzon State, who were quite calm before, finally couldn't help but ask the staff around them: "What do you think, what is the intention of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Maybe it's because you can't pull your face and rely on the strong and the weak?"

"Oh? However, the officials of the Ming Dynasty said that they did not come here to destroy our country. ”

"So, we're waiting for us to make some polite mistakes and make excuses?"

The envoy frowned slightly: "If Da Ming really wants to destroy us, why do you have to make excuses, you can send troops openly!" ”

"If it's neither." The staff thought for a while and said, "I think the Ming army may be just waiting, waiting for follow-up reinforcements, although the Ming army that is now ashore does not know how many, but it will definitely not exceed 10,000 people, and if the Ming army is full of 10,000, I am afraid it will be invincible." ”

"The Ming army is less than 10,000, and it is invincible"

The envoy sighed, "What should I do? Could it be that it is really a death for me Luzon? ”

The staff racked their brains, thought for a while, and said: "My lord, there is another possibility, Da Ming, maybe it is really just a place in Manila, other than that, as they said, it is not for the purpose of destroying our country. ”

The envoy smiled bitterly when he heard this: "Our king, although he is drunk and dreams of death every day, but he is by no means a real mediocre king, this Manila is an important port of my Luzon country, although it has not been under the control of the royal family for a long time, but it is a factable thing, and it cannot be ceded in name, and it is absolutely unacceptable to really become the so-called Ming Manila Xuanfu envoy, and even for this, he will not hesitate to fight." ”

"Moreover, Manila is the maritime gateway of our Luzon country, and the Luzon state that has lost Manila no longer has the ability to expand outward."

The staff sighed and said: "My lord, now we can only wait and see what happens, if the Ming Dynasty really starts a war against Luzon, we can only do our best to fight to the death with the Ming Dynasty." ”

The envoy nodded, he was now in prison, and there was no better way than to choose to trust the judgment of Wang Cheng's side.

On the other hand, after shelving the Luzon envoys' visits, Zheng He was also convening his civil and military subordinates to discuss the conquest.

"At present, the city walls of Manila are still being repaired, although the construction period is still very long, but at least it is not without danger to defend, even in the worst case, with these previously forcibly abandoned city walls, and the main artillery fire of the fleet (the range of ordinary naval guns is not enough), it is enough to defend the city of Manila." Zhu Youjiao said.

Manila City is a small city with the port area as the core, with a total population of only 100,000, before there was a large section of the complete city wall, and then after several wars, most of it collapsed, but there are still some ruins and broken walls, and the restoration of the city wall is carried out on this basis. In the past, it was not that it was not repaired, not because there was no manpower, material resources or will, but that the king of Luzon forbade Manila to have a complete wall defense system, which was obviously a measure to guard against the Han Chinese.

And the reason why this matter was put in the first place was naturally out of the consideration of defeat before victory, even if the landing force of the Ming Dynasty was strong and more than enough to fight these natives, it did not leave a way back for itself at all, and it should not be done by a military commander who commanded so many armies.

In addition, it is necessary to rectify the internal situation and probe for information.

Wang Jinghong also said: "The change in Manila has also caused tension in the current situation in Luzon, and the major tribes on one side are ready to move, in fact, if we take the initiative to send troops at this time, we can remove the obstacles in one fell swoop, so that they will no longer be able to threaten the safety of our Daming Manila Propaganda Envoy in the future." ”

Zheng He muttered: "At the beginning of this trip to Luzon, in fact, you also knew that it was for the purpose of first obtaining an overseas base similar to Thanh Hoa Port for replenishment, and to improve the overseas trade network. ”

In fact, everyone present is well aware of the changes in the situation.

First, it is that the port of Manila is not hard to take, and it is not difficult to look forward to Shu, and it is not stumbling.

The second is that now that I understand the internal details of Luzon, I really feel that this small kingdom is a little unbearable, and it is estimated that it will not be difficult to fight, so you are welcome.

Third, it was something that Zheng He did not say to everyone clearly, that is, he received a letter from Jiang Xinghuo.

The main thing mentioned in the letter is the matter of the third prince Zhu Gaosui's overseas vassalage.

Zhu Gaosui deliberately took the initiative to get out of the game, away from the increasingly fierce storm of contention, and the same scattered sand and terrain and climate and other conditions are suitable for colonial Tianzhu, which is currently in an unexplored state, and the ocean-going fleet of the Ming Dynasty has not even stepped out of the Strait of Malacca, which is obviously still a little far away from the conditions of colonization.

Therefore, Luzon became the best choice.

But in Zheng He's view, Luzon Island, or the Luzon Islands, is not perfect, because the terrain and landform are so special that if you only occupy a port, it is better to say that this area can be used as a foothold for the ocean-going fleet, which is conducive to the fleet's rapid deployment and maneuver, and even supply, training, and maintenance can be solved together.

But the problem is that the fleet cannot solve everything.

The Luzon Islands are also scattered islands of different sizes, and the terrain of the main island is complex, with flat and open plains and criss-crossing mountains.

There is a great hidden danger for the entire occupation of the Ming Dynasty, because unlike Annan, the terrain of Annan is a complete geographical structure and is not so fragmented. It's like a piece of sesame cake that has not only been torn into several pieces, but even the sesame seeds on it have fallen to the ground.

Once the natives are generally dissatisfied, then the cost of going deep into the mountains to fight a law and order war is boundless.

After all, the Han people are only a minority here, and they have to occupy, build, and suppress, and there are not so many people at all.

But after all, this was also the initiative of the third prince, and it was Jiang Xinghuo's request, Zheng He naturally couldn't refuse, otherwise it would be a little too much.

So what he originally meant was to first build the fortifications of Manila City, and then send a naval division to be stationed here for a year and a half to suppress the field, and finally consider the next step.

The reason why Zheng He thinks this is actually because he thinks that the defense system of Manila is probably not a little different from the regular fortress wall defense system of the Ming Dynasty.

The walls of Manila, on the other hand, cost a lot of money and energy to build, and required a lot of labor, as well as defending against enemy attacks and breaching the city.

The warships of the Daming Ocean Division, some treasure ships of 2,000 materials, are equipped with powerful bow guns, which can bear a lot of defensive counterattack firepower and reduce the burden of city defense.

In other words, after Zheng He received the letter, his initial plan was still relatively conservative, and the main factor was that the Ming army's field forces were barely enough, but if he wanted to occupy Luzon, he couldn't do it at all.

The civil and military subordinates present also knew this truth, so when they heard this, they didn't refute it, but quietly waited for the follow-up of Zheng He's so-called "change".

"But now it seems that the stubborn plan is still too conservative, and we have to prepare for both."

Zheng He said in a showdown: "One hand is that once the negotiation fails, Luzon is unwilling to give up Manila, then it will be fought, and the other hand is the original plan, continue to repair the city wall, if Luzon signs a trade contract with us, then leave a fleet to garrison, and build Manila as an overseas base of the Ming Dynasty." ”

However, someone asked: "In that case, if Luzon takes the initiative and is defeated by our army, why not take advantage of the situation to seize the royal city of Luzon?" ”

Wang Jinghong explained: "The Luzon kingdom is now stable on the surface, but in fact it is divided on the inside, even if the army of the king of Luzon is defeated and the effective rule of the Luzon state is completely destroyed, it is not a good situation for us, because the Ming Dynasty cannot bear it." ”

The more belligerent Zhu Youjiao also agreed at this time: "Although the army of Luzon is not elite, but the terrain in the middle of the island is very steep, we only have thousands of soldiers, if we want to attack and clean up, we must go through months of hard fighting, and even have to pay some casualties, but we can't stay in Luzon for the rest of our lives, right?" Once withdrawn, these vacant spheres of influence will inevitably be filled, and that is to make wedding dresses for people. ”

"Moreover, if we want to completely master this place, it is not enough to have a strong fleet. We'll also need to gain a foothold along the way, colonize and develop manpower, recruit new soldiers, organize troops, and gradually encroach on Luzon until we finally wipe out all the forces before we can rule the region completely. ”

"However, these things are not urgent, and they have to be taken step by step."

After everyone listened, they all nodded frequently and expressed their deep agreement.

Zheng He said: "So what I mean is that no matter which hand we used before, we will have to take down the towns around Manila in the future and establish our colonial stronghold, and at the same time, this is also a supply port, so transportation is not worrying, and we will only move on to the next stage after we have slowly accumulated enough strength." Of course, if possible, it would be better to keep the other two neighboring cities in our hands so that we can better control this place, after all, Manila is prosperous and rich, but it is desperately lacking in defense. ”

And Zheng He's idea is precisely to expand his power in the future through his control over Manila and his shipping advantages at sea.

Zheng He's idea is good, but the premise of all this is that the Ming army can gain a foothold here.

As the days passed, the two sides were about to collide like two hedged chariots that had thrown off their reins and were desperately waving their whips.

The Luzon people reacted much more quickly than expected.

The envoys did not return for a long time, and the Ming army never made any advance to the north, both of which did not meet the expectations of the monarchs and ministers of Luzon.

And there is one thing, which is also beyond the expectations of the monarchs and ministers of Luzon, that is, the enthusiasm of the local tribes for this matter is somewhat abnormal. High.

In fact, that's because of the poor information.

Among the monarchs and ministers of Luzon, there are many people who personally go to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute and have seen how powerful the Ming Dynasty is, so when they make decisions, they will have a lot more concerns.

But the local tribes rarely even go out of their own sphere of influence, so what knowledge can they have when they stay in the mountains?

The only thing they knew about the Ming Dynasty was that it was a very distant country, and the people who came there were very diligent, robbed them of their business, and were very rich, and they were out-and-out fat sheep.

In the past, if it weren't for the king of Luzon, they would have looted the rich Han merchants in Manila 10,000 times.

And this rebellion in Manila, in their eyes, is a great opportunity to slaughter fat sheep.

As for the risks? What are the risks? I don't know.

Don't laugh, let alone this era, even in the future, this kind of poor information due to cognitive asymmetry, and finally make jokes, are very common things.

The local tribes actively asked for war, and the Ming army cowered in Manila Harbor and did not come out, which also gave the monarchs and ministers of Luzon, who were originally a little afraid, some very reasonable courage.

It seems that the Ming army is not as strong as imagined?

Otherwise, why did he directly detain the envoys and dare not reply, nor dare to send troops.

"The army that Daming landed this time may not be as many as we imagined."

"They are just occupying a port, behind them, the war from Annam has not yet completely ended, and there are still many threats from the Ming Empire that have not been completely lifted, so they dare not attack rashly, they can only choose to retreat in this small port, hoping that we can choose to retreat, but this time, we can't back down, otherwise it will make the Ming feel that we are weak and bullied!"

"But since Daming has eaten it, he will definitely not be willing to give up control of the Port of Manila, so we must also put pressure on them."

Just when the princes in charge of the military power of Luzon were discussing, the envoys who had been under house arrest before came back with the conditions of the Ming Dynasty, and unfortunately, the Ming not only did not mean to return Manila, but also put forward some other conditions.

The envoy did not complete his intended task and was detained for a while, and when he returned, he was worried that the king would kill him in a fit of rage if he had drunk too much.

But the envoy found that the king was awake like never before.

"This condition is categorically unacceptable, and it is all something that hides mysteries."

Looking at the contract clauses such as the establishment of angel pavilions and equal trade in front of him, the minister of Luzon saw a sense of familiarity at a glance, because he usually had dealings with high-ranking officials from countries such as Annan, Champong, and Zhenla.

But the Korean state was forced by the Ming Dynasty's military might; The city of Zhancheng was about to be destroyed, and he had to agree to the conditions of the Ming Dynasty; The Annan Kingdom was directly destroyed, and the Chen Dynasty, where the rest of the land was restored, was supported by the Ming Dynasty, and the monarch Chen Tianping was a puppet supported by the Ming Dynasty; Japan, on the other hand, is Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who has strength and lacks money, and believes that this is a basic condition of mutual benefit.

Luzon is different, Luzon itself actually has no trade, let alone any so-called technology and industry at all, even the Han people who immigrated can transfer technology to them, you can imagine what level of technology Luzon itself is.

Moreover, the trade prosperity of Manila's port is because this is the natural trade node of the entire Luzon Islands, in fact, it is the goods of a country are concentrated here, and a port does not reflect the overall situation of the whole country.

In this way, the military might of the Ming Dynasty did not oppress them, and the Luzon Kingdom did not have a place to ask for the Ming Dynasty, so naturally they would not agree.

"Probably because the Ming Dynasty thought that we were vulnerable and it was impossible to retake Manila City by force, so he put forward such harsh conditions." One prince speculated.

"Hmph, if you want to threaten me with force, then let's see who kills the deer!"

The King of Luzon said coldly, but the sickly ruddy flush on his face revealed his true health.

In fact, on the eve of his accession to the throne, he was already injured and sick, and in the past few years, the disease has not been cured well, and he has been in pain and want to die every time, relying on alcohol to support until now, the condition is getting worse, and the body has become a half-crippled body.

The king of Luzon did not want to die on the sickbed like this, and the invasion of the Ming army, in his opinion, was also a wonderful opportunity to unite people's hearts, and even completely unify the entire Luzon country in essence, and fulfill the last wishes of several generations of previous kings.

The king of Luzon opened his mouth and asked the envoy who had sent him: "You should have a preliminary estimate of how many Ming troops there are in Manila." ”

The envoy pondered for a moment and replied: "According to the minister's estimate, the number of the Ming army is tens of thousands, but among them, there are probably not too many who can really be put into land warfare, only a few thousand. ”

"But the Ming army has a lot of ships, and I heard that the artillery on the ships can hit far away, and even outside the city, which is far from comparable to the artillery imported from the Mongols in our hands, and the firearms of the Ming army are also very advanced."

In fact, in this situation, the Ming firearms have been far ahead of the times, even if these elite Ming troops meet the Mongolian iron cavalry of Genghis Khan's generation, in the case of combat effectiveness and organizational ability is not large, they can also rely on the advantage of firearms to defeat the Mongolian iron cavalry, of course, if the Mongolian iron cavalry is bent on retreating, it is definitely impossible to catch up.

The king of Luzon looked at his sons, and unlike the Ming dynasty, these princes all held military power, and this time, the king also intended to choose the most suitable person to inherit his throne.

"This time, I hope you all cheer up and don't live up to the expectations of this king."

When the king said this, his eyes looked around at the generals: "In addition, in this expedition, your task is to completely flatten Manila, the Ming army has a superior fleet, so it is only necessary to drive them to the sea, not to seek complete defeat, this king promises, will keep four-fifths of the spoils for you to distribute freely." ”

Hearing the king's words, the generals under the hall were excited, because generally speaking, they usually have no extra oil and water to fish, after all, the wealth in Luzon basically depends on agricultural output, and they are all landlords, taxes are collected by themselves, and they belong to the sky for food, and the soldiers under their command do not need them to provide equipment, they are all brought by themselves, this lord model is somewhat similar to Japan at the same time.

And the opulence of Manila is coveted by everyone.

Not only gold and silver jewelry, but also silk, tea, and porcelain from the Ming Dynasty, cane sugar from Sulu, cloves, cardamom and other spices from the islands of Bo Ni, gold and pepper from the Majapahit Empire, camphor from Borneo, sandalwood from Timor, and tin from western Sumatra.

The people present are all the ruling class, and there is no shortage of food and clothing, but these things are also what they need, so when they heard the king's promise, they immediately became excited.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"The last general will definitely live up to his mission!"

"The boy must lead the army to kill them all!"

These princes, nobles, and generals patted their chests one after another to express their determination.

Amid the chatter of the princes, generals, and ministers, the King of Luzon continued: "What objections do you have? If not, then the king will order the army. ”

Hearing the king's words, everyone agreed with each other, after all, at this time, since they didn't plan to talk about it, it was the safest choice to take advantage of the unstable foothold of the Ming army to send troops.

The king of Luzon nodded, and then ordered: "The four princes' soldiers are divided into four routes, and they will attack under the city of Manila, and at the same time order all tribes to send troops together, and this expedition must drive the Ming army into the sea within three months!" ”

(End of chapter)