Spain occupied Manila and the Netherlands occupied Batavia. They were fought over and over again.
From the early years of Wanli to Chongzhen's ascension to the throne, not only the indigenous people in northern Luzon rose up in rebellion, but also the indigenous people in the southern Philippine Islands were also in full swing. The Chinese Filipinos participated in almost the entire process, because the amount of taxes they should pay was far higher.
Higher than the local natives!
Every time when facing an uprising, if the scale was too large, Spain's response was to retreat into Manila and defend it.
They tried their best to stall for time until the internal conflicts among the rebels were aroused, and during this period they took the initiative to send envoys to provoke them. Anyway, the rebels came from various sources, and they would definitely find opportunities, and there would definitely be betrayers. Even the leaders of the rebels directly defected, because the leader also had a large number of people.
heap.
When the rebels had internal strife or withdrew their troops, Spain would take the opportunity to launch a counterattack, brutally suppressing and massacring the revolting people.
This time too, the Governor of the Philippines stood still and even took back the fleet, determined to defend the city of Manila.
"Commander, a letter from the Dutch!"
Wang Hui led his troops to successfully capture Tortoiseshell City, and the navy led by Zheng Zhilong also moved over and used it as a military base.
Fuzhou, Zhuluo (Taiwan), and Tortoise (Luzon), the three major logistics centers are connected in a line, and a large number of maritime merchants transfer materials to prepare for the long-term siege of the city.
Tortoiseshell City used to be the royal city of a small country. It had been abandoned for more than a hundred years. Later it became a Chinese town and was massacred by the Philippines twice.
Zheng Zhilong opened the letter, but it was from the Dutch commander Peter.
"How?" Wang Hui asked.
Zheng Zhilong handed over the letter: "The Netherlands is attacking Cebu. There are only about 100 Spanish defenders in the castle, but there are at least 2,000 indigenous soldiers assisting in the defense. There are also many indigenous people in Cebu Island who are resisting the Spanish, about 800 people.
The Kirishima natives helped Holland fight the war."
Wang Hui said with a smile: "We are so sincere that we dispatched 3,500 soldiers. Spain and the Netherlands only have a few hundred soldiers, but they lead tens of thousands of natives to fight."
"Has the area around Tortoiseshell City been cleaned up?" Zheng Zhilong asked.
Wang Hui replied: "The indigenous people who participated in the massacre of the Han people have been completely eliminated. All men, women, old and children were killed. A total of more than 1,300 people were killed."
The Datong Army killed all men, women, old and children around Tortoiseshell City. Do you think it was too cruel?
A few months ago, even the indigenous children carried sticks and followed their elders to massacre the Chinese. The same was true for the elderly and women. There were almost no innocents, and those who could walk were the murderers!
Wang Hui added: "The natives in the mountainous areas are all tribes close to the Chinese. I heard from those maritime merchants that the pirate Lin Feng hid in the mountains after his defeat and was accepted by the natives in the mountains. Many Fujian remnants
, married and had children with the natives in the mountains, and taught the headhunters in the mountains to farm and weave. This time, hundreds of Han people fled into the mountains and were protected by the headhunters. I have sent troops to pick them up from the mountains."
Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but sigh: "The headhunters who care about hair and drink blood and enjoy killing people are actually close to the Han people and even protect the Han people. Who would believe this?"
Two days later, the expeditionary force missionary official Guike came to Tortoiseshell City with the surviving Han people and headhunters.
There were only about 300 surviving Han Chinese here, all of them were in ragged clothes, and some even wore indigenous fur clothes. When they saw Zheng Zhilong and Wang Hui, they immediately knelt down collectively, and then cried and begged for revenge.
Fang Guike replied: "Commander Zheng, General Wang, and the Han people who hid in the mountains have successfully brought back 317 people. There are also 285 indigenous warriors who are willing to fight with us."
Wang Hui nodded and smiled: "Thank you for your hard work."
Fang Guike added: "Some of the headhunters in the mountains are also reasonable. For example, the headhunters here are very good. As long as the headhunters are willing to communicate, I think they can be educated and cannot be treated as savages. This is the case in Luzon and in Taiwan.
The same is true, we should try to educate those headhunters."
"You should report this matter to His Majesty yourself." Wang Hui was noncommittal.
Zheng Zhilong said: "Everything is ready, let's march to Manila."
…
There were Spanish villages and towns along the coast, but the Datong army was too lazy to attack them.
The number of Spaniards in these Spanish villages and towns is actually very small. They are just some planters. The leaders of the villages and towns must be missionaries, and each missionary must be a big landowner!
Spain's Philippine colony was also nicknamed the "Church Empire".
There were no local officials, and a missionary managed the whole area. The Archbishop of Manila could even impeach the Governor and act as the Governor's affairs when the Governor was absent.
Tortoiseshell City is located near Dagupan, less than 200 kilometers away from Manila in a straight line.
But one is located in Lingayen Bay and the other is in Manila Bay. You have to go around it slowly by sea, and it is difficult to pass through the land due to the numerous mountains and forests.
Before the Chinese fleet entered Manila Bay, beacon fires were already igniting on Corregidor Island.
Corregidor Island is located at the throat of Manila Bay. It has a lighthouse, beacon tower, fort and castle.
"Send the order, bombard the fort!" Zheng Zhilong said.
48 Datong Navy warships lined up to bombard the forts on the island.
At the same time, the small boat was lowered from the ship, and under the cover of the battleship's firepower, the expeditionary sergeants rowed the small boat and attempted to land.
Under the tilt of the artillery fire, the Spanish defenders quickly abandoned the shore forts and all retreated to the small castle on the island. It was a low bastion, and it was difficult for artillery to hit it, so the army could only slowly capture it.
There is also a fort in the castle, with more than ten city defense guns, which continuously fire at the landing troops.
Wang Hui, who led the troops to land, had a headache. In just over ten minutes, two Datong troops were killed and more than 30 indigenous troops were killed. They had just landed and had not yet begun to attack the castle.
Before going on the expedition, Wang Hui received special training, mainly learning how to attack European castles.
Three words: Dig a tunnel!
Thirty-five hundred Datong troops, as well as nearly 10,000 indigenous troops, were temporarily transferred to trench diggers.
They took out the hoes and shovels they had prepared long ago, and dug a trench to hide in the cannonballs fired from the castle. After digging this defensive trench, they suffered losses again, and more than 60 people were killed by the castle's artillery.
"Damn it, after we capture the castle, kill all the red-haired ghosts inside!"
Lin Ruyi was cursing and doing the soil work. He was a soldier in the first year of the Republic of China. Because he had attended elementary school for three years and received a new education, he was promoted quickly and was promoted to the post commander (commanding one hundred troops) in less than two years.
This guy dug trenches with the soldiers. After digging the outer defensive trenches, he dug diagonally toward the castle, using a "Z" shaped trench, and approached the castle bit by bit.
"Commander, we can't dig in front." The soldier still complained.
Lin Ruyi said: "If you can't dig, dig slowly."
There is a beach on the seaside, and the digging speed is very fast, but we don't dig very far before we hit rocks.
For a whole day, the trenches only advanced more than 20 meters.
The Spaniards in the castle were also helpless. Since the Chinese soldiers hid in the trenches, it would be a waste of gunpowder for them to fire any more.
"Where did the red-haired ghost's battleship go?"
Zheng Zhilong stood in the captain's cabin of the ship and looked around with a telescope, but found no trace of the Spanish fleet.
A big battle is boring and boring, just digging trenches from beginning to end.
After four days of digging, the Dutch fleet arrived, as did the Sulu and Brunei fleets. The armies of several countries gathered in Manila Bay, but the Spanish fleet was still not seen.
Peter, the commander of the Dutch army, arrived at Zheng Zhilong's flagship in a small boat.
"We meet again, Zheng." Peter greeted with a smile. It seemed that he was still an old acquaintance.
Zheng Zhilong asked: "How about the south?"
Peter said: "Zamboanga has been captured, but Cebu has not yet been captured. I left 50 soldiers and took 3,000 natives to continue besieging the castle in Cebu."
Zamboanga is in the west of Mindanao, which was once the territory of the Sulu Kingdom. Nine years ago, Spain sent troops to attack the Sulu Kingdom, plundered Zamboanga, burned the city, and then occupied and rebuilt it.
There were only so many Spanish colonists, and as they continued to expand, they had to divide their troops to garrison them.
In places with more troops, 200 troops were stationed, while in places with fewer troops, 50 troops were stationed, quickly diluting Manila's military strength. Today, the number of Spanish garrison troops in Manila is less than 300.
Even if it cannot capture Manila, as long as it can gain a foothold in Zamboanga, the Dutch East India Company will still make money, because Zamboanga is an important port in the southern Philippines!
The two chatted for a while, and Peter said: "I'm going to help my Chinese friends attack the castle."
After saying this, the guy left, landed in a small boat, and hid in the trench to join the Datong Army.
He said he was here to help, but after Peter entered the trench, he focused on observing the Datong Army. Seeing the equipment of the Datong Army and asking about the 3,500 people who had arrived, Peter suddenly felt nervous.
The two sides have not reached an agreement on how to share the spoils, and it is unknown who owns Manila.
Peter only brought 800 troops to the expedition and left 50 troops on Cebu Island. How could he capture the 3,500 Datong troops?
Peter took out a pen and paper on the spot, wrote a letter to the Governor of Batavia, and then sent someone by ship to send it back immediately. The content was very simple: the Dutch Army cannot fight the Chinese Army. If you want to seize Manila, you must use warships to blockade it for a long time.
In fact, the Governor of Batavia also has his own bottom line for negotiations.
That is to say, the entire island of Luzon was given to China, and the Netherlands occupied the southern islands of the Philippines: Mindanao, Cebu, etc.
As long as the Netherlands occupied those islands, it would be equivalent to controlling the northern spice route and the necessary passage from the Americas to Southeast Asia.
On the eighth day of trench digging, a warship came from the south.
"Sir, the Spanish fleet is in the south and attacked our fleet and army on Cebu Island! Four battleships were lost, and the army... has been defeated!"
It doesn't matter if the army collapsed. After all, only 50 people were left. What does the life and death of the remaining thousands of indigenous soldiers have to do with the Dutch colonists?
The loss of four battleships caused great pain to the Dutch.
When the Spanish fleet came in force, Zheng Zhilong and Peter both understood what was happening.
The Pacific route has been restored, and the Spanish galleons in the Americas are back!
There are six Spanish galleons, the largest with a displacement of 1,200 tons and the smallest with a displacement of 500 tons. In addition, there are 16 small warships and armed merchant ships.
A naval battle is about to break out. A 500-ton warship can deal with it, but a larger warship will be completely blind.
Neither the Dutch Navy nor the Chinese Navy can do anything against such a large sailing ship!