On June 18, the fifteenth year of Wanli, the day after the Ming army's artillery shells fell into the city of Manila, the fast boat pursued by the imperial envoy and the sealing ship returned from Sulu to Manila Bay and joined the sealing fleet.
The government dispatched the latest speedboat developed by the Portuguese shipwright Slinwa in the twelfth year of Wanli. It was thirty miles per hour and really as fast as a galloping horse. I thought I could catch up with Feng Ship on the sea - but the superior master
What we have overlooked is that even on the same route, most of the time the visibility is not enough for the fast boat and the closed boat to meet, let alone when sailing at night.
Therefore, when Xiao Chongye was looking for traces at the stern of the ship, the fast boat carrying the imperial edict of canonizing the King of Sulu had already surpassed them. After completing supplies in Manila, it went south to Sulu.
After anxiously waiting for several days, Wang Da, the captain of the fast boat, thought that the fleet might be left behind by him. With the idea of giving it a try, he sailed the ship back and finally saw the sealing fleet outside Manila Harbor.
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What Wang Da didn't expect was that due to misjudgments on both sides, the blockade fleet that was planning to go to Manila for supplies had already fought with Spain. Xiao Chongye, who had taken the initiative, ignored Xie Jie's dissuasion and bombarded the city of Manila.
When he saw Wang Da, Xiao Chongye calmed down from his excitement and remembered that his main mission was to go to Sulu as an envoy. Fortunately, the imperial edict was accompanied by the Jun Order of the Political Affairs Hall: the canonization of the King of Sulu was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's official intervention in Nanyang.
It may trigger a reaction from the Luzon colonial authorities. The imperial envoy should be ordered to deal with the situation in a reasonable, expedient and orderly manner, and if there is an emergency, he can control the situation and allow him to act as he pleases.
Fortunately! Fortunately, there are four words for "acting cheaply", otherwise the imperial envoy Feng Ship would start a war overseas lightly, and he may not be able to claim the huge credit. The key now is to advance the date when Wang Da and Feng Ship meet——
Otherwise, there would be no way to write a report after returning. After all, the old guy Xiao Chongye attacked Manila first and then received the order to act expediently.
Why did he get head pain at such an old age? Xiao Chongye asked worriedly. Seeing Xie Jie pulling Wang Da aside and muttering, his old face turned a little red. After a while, he saw Wang Da nodding heavily from the corner of his eye.
Only then did I let out a long sigh of relief.
With Wang Da's approval to advance the date of the encounter, Xiao Chongye was no longer afraid. Dawei dug a hole in the bow of the sealing ship and said that it was the "St. John" that made the attack. The prime ministers of Liangzhengshitang did not dare to say that they had done it themselves.
That's wrong.
Now that he was angry, the Spaniards also knew how powerful I was. Xiao Chongye did not want to expand the war, so he ordered a cessation of bombardment for one day, and sent an envoy to negotiate with the city lord of Manila, questioning why he sent ships to attack the Ming Dynasty to seal off the ships.
Only then did I remember to negotiate with the Manila authorities, which fully reflected Master Xiao's mentality of an angel in the country - I will beat you first and then talk to you.
The bombardment by the Ming Dynasty's sealing fleet stopped, and people were sent to Binandu outside the city to find two Chinese interpreters who were proficient in Spanish. They took the Ming imperial envoy's interrogation documents and submitted a letter to Manila.
Governor Santiago quickly got the imperial envoy document, and was furious after seeing it. The Ming Dynasty fleet came to Manila, and the reason they found was the St. John, which was dead without any evidence - I really can't defend myself in the face of such shameless accusations from you.
Because the information reported by the Manila Bay Trumpet Observatory is incomplete, it only said that it saw the Grand Fleet, and the St. John did not come back after leaving the port. The Governor of Santiago did not know why the St. John disappeared. Only now does he know that it probably encountered the Ming Dynasty fleet.
Too bad.
A Saint John attacked four warships several times larger than itself. How could a civilized country's reason for launching a war be so shameless? Santiago thought. Then Rodriguez's arrogance appeared in front of his eyes.
With the appearance of a lifetime, I thought to myself that it was really possible.
But now that the big black cannonballs have been thrown into the city, you guys think of asking us, are we going too far? Bullies don't deserve to be bullied like this.
If it were not for the small number of Spanish troops and the unreliability of the indigenous troops, the Governor of Santiago would have ignored the peace gesture and fought to the end with the blockade fleet. Surrender must not be allowed now, but the dawn of peace must be grasped.
He pinched his nose and replied with a letter, saying in the letter that the Manila authorities did not know about Rodriguez's attack on the Ming Dynasty's sealing fleet, and we cannot accept the slander. However, the Ming fleet used naval guns indiscriminately.
Attacking the city of Manila and knocking down two forts near the port - you Ming Dynasty must give the great Spain an explanation.
Oops, Xiao Chongye got a little better after receiving the reply. I am in the country, and I can still slander you with empty words. You are rude to me first, and then I give you a small punishment and you still want to explain? I have an explanation, I will continue.
Let me tell you with a cannon!
When he was about to give the order to continue firing, Xie Jie advised again: "Mr. Xiao, although we have soldiers on board the ship, most of them are sailors. Such a big city will definitely not be destroyed with artillery bombardment, and the infantry will definitely be on the way - Manila and the Ryukyu Royal City
The difference is that the foreign devils are good at using firearms, and we don't have thousands of elites who can't take down such a tightly defended fortress. Besides, we are here for supplies, not for fighting, and we have other business to attend to."
Xiao Chongye smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "Brother Xie, I don't know what you are talking about. But I have already ordered the cannon to be fired. It will be difficult to explain when you return home. If we get their apology documents, we can use the ladder to come down."
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While the two were talking, a servant reported that a small boat was approaching the fleet with a white flag. Xiao Chongye and Xie Jie thought that Santiago had changed his mind and hurriedly called for people to board the boat.
Those who boarded the ship were not messengers from the Manila authorities, but a group of people from the Ming Dynasty. One of them even knew Xie Jie:
"I have met two imperial envoys! I have met Mr. Xie! The younger one is from the Zhou family. It is true that we met here after not seeing each other for many years. You still remember me, right?"
"Sun Laicai! Why are you here?"
"Sigh - it's a long story, these five or six years old are hanging out in this area just to order some stuff. I introduced to the two imperial envoys that this is Mr. Zhong Yanwen, the Luzon steward of our Prince Zhou's Mansion. He's here.
Report important things."
Zhong Yanwen, who looked like a scholar and wore a cool silk shirt, met the two imperial envoys during the Great Week. After the guests and hosts took their seats, Xiao Chongye felt that the man named Zhong looked familiar. After looking at it repeatedly, he asked before Zhong Yanwen could speak: "Mr. Zhong used to be
Working at Xin Min Daily News?"
Zhong Yanwen's face turned red and he cupped his hands and said, "Yes. When I was young, I worked in Xinmin Daily under the pseudonym Xin Zhongping. Because I preached in the newspaper that horse racing was beneficial to the country, I was attacked by gangsters in the capital and couldn't live in peace. Now I'm going to sea.
Now, I can make a living by working for the King of Zhou."
Xie Jie opened his mouth wide, wanting to laugh but feeling embarrassed. He also remembered this incident. At that time, he was working at the Military Intelligence Headquarters, and the Military Intelligence Bureau must subscribe to newspapers. Xie Jie also saw reporter Zhong's seemingly reasonable article.
At that time, the censor and the governor had no choice but to be angry with Shi Zhonggan, but the people in the capital whose families were ruined by horse racing were not used to this guy. Rotten eggs, rotten leaves and gravel greeted his home every day, and the courtyard
They were all piled up - they were ridiculed in a series of articles by the "Jingshi Daily", saying that this person named Zhong was paid to write weak articles, and it was natural to receive such evil retribution, which proved that public opinion should not be underestimated!