Zhao Changshui holds the biggest secret of this expedition, which is the coordinates of two latitudes and longitudes.

One coordinate is a gold-mining island in the western Pacific Ocean called Lihil Island. The island is a volcanic island, teeming with hot springs and steam, and due to geological activity, gold deposits are distributed on the surface and in shallow depths.

And this island also has its drawbacks, it is located in the tropics, and the island is small, the soil is poor, and it lacks the basic conditions for colonization.

But the problem is that where there is gold, there is everything, and this is the iron law of the colonial era. The gold and silver mines of the Spaniards in the Americas, which have a very harsh geographical environment, have been effectively developed, and the Potosi silver mine is directly located in the barren land, but now it is a famous large city in the world, with a population of 200,000.

Although there is no shortage of islands in the Pacific Ocean with gold and silver mines, Lihil Island, after finding it, you can find gold mines, and if you find gold mines, there is no lack of motivation for development. There is no shortage of islands for agricultural development, which naturally gives the conditions for the development of gold mines.

Mr. Lee named the island Jinzhou Island.

The latitude and longitude target for another region is Melbourne, Australia, where there is also a place to pan for gold, but it is located inland, and it is not as easy to find as Lehil Island.

But there is no doubt that gold mines exist, and the reason why San Francisco is called San Francisco is because of the gold rush in the Melbourne area, where there is a new gold mountain.

"Big shopkeeper, is this Tasman reliable? If gold deposits were indeed found in those two places, and Tasman was Dutch, I fear that these would eventually be known to the Dutch East India, Du Company. Zhao Changshui expressed his worries.

Lee smiled and said, "I think he's reliable." If he wanted to send the news to the Dutch, he should not be the only Dutchman who would persuade Bell and the others to join him. ”

Zhao Changshui said: "Okay, but I will still be wary of him." ”

Chen Liuzi lit a cigarette and said, "Speaking of which, the Dutch are a little strange. After a naval battle, Cornelius came to ask us to dispose of Guo Xu and divide the cargo on the galleon. ”

"Didn't Tang Mu pick out some worthless spices and cloths and send Cornelis away?" Li Zhaoji said with a smile.

Chen Liuzi nodded: "And this is the strange place, at the beginning Cornelius was very angry, demanded that we hand over the cargo on the galleon, and supervised its modification, and even issued a threat of force. But two days earlier, two Dutch ships had arrived in Tamsui, and his attitude had softened.

Instead, he asked the big brother like a fly if you were in Tamsui and wanted to see you. ”

Lee Siu Kee said with a smile: "The reason is very simple, the Dutch are not the opponent of the Spaniards, they must have failed in the South Seas." ”

In the second year of Hongguang, that is, in 1646 AD, a war was fought between the Dutch Eastern Indo-Dutch and the Spanish Governor of the Philippines, known as the Battle of Manila, when in fact, its area of operation extended from the Philippines to the Spice Islands.

Originally, in history, the Dutch lost this time, and in this era, the Dutch lost even worse.

The reason is very simple, last year, the Oriental Trading Company hinted through various channels that the Spanish Governor Dutch was going to start a war, and the internal fighting launched by the Eastern Indian and Du companies because of the rise of the Oriental Trading Company made the fleet strength of the attack on the Philippines much weaker than in history.

Van Diemen received only twelve ships and four hundred soldiers, while the Spaniards, who had only two dilapidated galleons, now had a fleet from the Americas. After the Dutch fleet was defeated in a naval battle in Manila Bay, Van Diemen ordered Cornelis to head north to capture the escaped galleon.

Obviously, with the entry of the Eastern Trading Company into the war, the Dutch were victorious, but also defeated.

The victory consisted in the fact that the Spaniards lost two galleons, one cruiser, and the defeat consisted in the fact that the Dutch gained nothing but more than one hundred and seventy casualties.

Cornelis sought to meet Lee for a simpler reason: he got the news. The fleet commanded by Van Dimen was defeated in the siege of Zamboanga Fortress, which had only about thirty Spanish soldiers but was supported by the Catholics of the surrounding tribes.

Most of the Dutch marines were lost, and the fleet at sea was attacked by the Spanish fleet, which had successfully broken through, and the damage was severe, even Van Dimen himself was wounded.

When Batavia got the news, he immediately stopped Van Dimen's further adventure. Matsolko gave Van Diemen two options, one was to convince the Eastern Trading Company to join the war, and the other was to end the war.

"I won't see Cornelis, you have to eat and drink well, but we won't be involved in their actions." Lee Siu Kee gave an affirmative answer.

At this time, Army Commander Yang Yandi, Marine Corps Commander Liu Shun and other high-ranking military officials had already arrived at the conference room.

"I will first declare discipline, and everything that is discussed today shall not be written or disseminated. From today onwards, all military preparations will be based on the reason for waging war against the Manchus in Korea and the Xian Peninsula. Lee announced his decision.

Everyone nodded, and after personally watching the door, Li Zhaoji said: "This year, the main expansion direction of the trading company is the Philippines. We are going to conduct a full-scale military operation involving the navy, marines, and land forces, with the goal of capturing Luzon.

Scheduled to open, November. The Dutch ships left Nagasaki, Shanghai, and Oto after returning to Batavia. ”

Even at Yang Yandi's level, he didn't expect such a large-scale military operation this year, and Li Zhaoji stretched out his hand to signal Tang Mu to introduce the situation.

"After intelligence confirmation and comparison, we are convinced that among the Philippine fleet currently stationed in the country, there is a dilapidated galleon, two large galen, two small galen, and since we have sunk the Manila, the Spaniards have three cruisers.

The Spanish fleet was split between Manila and Zamboanga, so we had a chance to break through each.

As for the land forces of the Spaniards, the size was about two thousand four hundred, of which only eight hundred could barely be called regular, four hundred infantry, two hundred cavalry and two hundred gunners. The rest were armed colonists and mestizos, and the others were recruited Chechitan or Nanyang natives.

But this was not all of its forces, and with full mobilization, the Spaniards could pull out between 30,000 and 50,000 troops. Tang Mu said.

Yang Yandi said with a smile: "This is a bit alarmist, you can't say that a farmer is a soldier with a sharpened wooden stick." ”

Liu Shun said: "Relatively speaking, I am more concerned about the role of these people in guerrilla warfare. The army did not participate in the Battle of the Chicken Coop, and it was not the castles on the island that were in trouble, but the natives around the chicken coop, who converted to Catholicism and rebelled against our requisitions for food and other demands.

Only eleven of my soldiers were killed in the siege of the chicken coop, but twenty were killed in the conquest of four villages. If it weren't for the great treasurer who had conquered the remaining six Catholic villages by the Kaidagrans, we would have died even more. ”

"How to conquer and manage is not something you need to think about. I'm going to put someone in charge of it, and you're going to have to think about how to occupy Luzon. Li Zhaoji reminded.

Yang Yandi lit a cigarette and said: "There are two key points in the occupation of Luzon, one is that the navy has gained sea supremacy, and the other is the capture of Fort San Diego, which I have heard said, it is a very strong fortress, all made of stone, and heavy artillery bombardment may not be able to open it. ”

"Sea supremacy is not a problem." Chen Liuzi pointed to the map and said, "After we won, the marines landed here, Subic Bay. Crossing the mountains to Manila, this is the place I chose as a docking point when I first led my army to trade.

It could be used as a temporary base, and if the Marines opened up the situation, the Army could land closer to Manila by boat, but if not, the Army would also land at Subic Bay to follow up on the advance. ”

Yang Yandi had no opinion on this, and Tang Mu added: "Fort San Diego is not a problem. ”

"Is there an internal response in the city?" Yang Yandi asked.

Tang Mu nodded: "Yes, but the key is not the internal response, but the castle itself."

Last year, there was an earthquake in Manila with a high intensity. It was only because the Dutch blocked local trade that our ships could not enter and exit, so we did not get the news in time.

Now the news is confirmed, the earthquake in Manila has shattered the city walls, and it is possible to storm the city without the need for artillery. ”

"By the time we attacked, the earthquake had passed for at least a year, and the Spaniards hadn't been able to repair it for a year?" Yang Yandi asked.

Tang Mu said: "It should be."

The local Chinese leader, Qian Dongxing, Zheng Zhilong, was given a contract this year for the construction of Fort San Diego. However, before it could begin, the contract was cancelled, because the Dutch knocked on the door, and all those who obeyed the orders of the Spanish governor were mobilized to establish a coastline beacon system, which ensured the smooth arrival of the Manila galleon.

Besides, the contract was not a patch to the city of San Diego, but part of a reconstruction contract.

Both the reconstruction contract and what our intelligence officers saw with their own eyes showed that Fort Santiago was destroyed by the earthquake. ”

"But I'm still going to prepare siege artillery." Yang Yandi said.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "Prudence is a virtue, and I support you, but I think that when Fort San Diego is attacked, it will be in ruins." ”

Lee Siu-kee knew very well that the city was destroyed by last year's earthquake, and even the reconstruction took five years to complete 12 years later.

"The Dutch have weakened the Spaniards, the earthquake has destroyed their strongest castle, and there has never been a better time to attack than now. God has given us a chance, and we have to seize it. ”

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