Xiao Chongye got to know him, which made Zhong Yanwen relax a lot, and his straight body relaxed slightly. Although his family scandal was pointed out, the former reporter Zhong didn't care. After all, how many people in Luzon can sit in the two seats now?
Have a cup of tea in front of the imperial envoy?
After a few words of greeting, Xiao Chongye said: "We have been waiting for the two imperial envoys to come here to meet with Spain for a long time - but we did not expect that the imperial court would take the matter of Jintong Island so seriously."
Xiao Chongye and Xie Jie were filled with questions after hearing this. Zhong Yanwen became uneasy when he saw the two people's doubts, as if what they just said had offended the imperial envoy.
Xie Jie asked: "What is the Golden and Copper Island? What are you talking about?"
Zhong Yanwen's heart turned over when he heard this, and he tentatively explained: "Golden Copper Island is a large island called Masbate Island in Spain. The expedition team of my family and the Lu Wang family discovered a large-scale open-pit gold and copper mine on the island before the end of last year.
Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, don’t you know?”
Xiao Chongye and Xie Jie looked at each other, and then they understood the purpose of the imperial court in sending them here from Ryukyu - no wonder they had to use a fast ship to deliver the imperial edict. It turned out that the imperial court was eager to use the canonization of Sulu to gain leverage with Spain!
This is not a secret. Is it necessary to hide it from the two imperial envoys? This cabinet can't do it! Xiao Chongye couldn't help but have such thoughts in his heart.
Xie Jie didn't have this idea, because nowadays the domestic society is declining, and the officials and the people are thinking about making a fortune. If they heard that an open-pit gold mine was discovered here, then a large number of people would come across the sea, and things might get out of control. Besides,
The King of Zhou and the King of Lu must also have wanted to make a fortune in silence. These two must have been secretly reporting, and they also took confidentiality measures in Luzon.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with the Jun Order of the Political Affairs Hall. The canonization of Sulu was just asking for advice, and the Ming Dynasty did not intend to go to war with the Manila authorities immediately - if it really wanted to go to war, it would be overwhelming. How could it be possible to attack such a big city with four warships? At least, they must bring enough
Troop transport ships can only be sure of victory by transporting field troops.
But what no one expected was that the "St. John" fired a cannon, which angered Mr. Xiao, the imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty. He had just come out of Ryukyu, and he didn't change his mentality of being very powerful in China, so he went straight to Manila.
It took several rounds of fire, which led to Zhong Yanwen's misunderstanding.
After talking for a while, Zhong Yanwen looked at Xiao Chongye with his mouth wide open. He said to himself, brother, you were not so impatient when you were in the capital. Why, the sailing time is too long, are you exhausted?
He heard that the imperial envoy had already started contact with the Manila authorities. He pondered in his heart, frowned and thought hard for a while and said, "My lords, this matter is in trouble now."
Then he explained: "If you two accept the apology form and retreat, it will give Manila a chance to breathe. They will concentrate all their Nanyang forces on Luzon and mobilize troops from New Spain. In the future, the imperial court will inevitably attack again.
A lot of trouble. This is one of them.”
Xiao Chongye heard what he said was reasonable, and he didn't even mention the regret in his heart. He could only concentrate on listening to what he said "Second": "Now there are five towns on the north bank of the Paxi River, and most of them were immigrants from Quanzhang, and the number of immigrants has reached tens of thousands.
If the warships leave, these people will be slaughtered by the Spaniards."
When Xiao Chongye said this, his hands were shaking with fright, wishing he could slap a big mouth on his face. Compared with the slaughter of the emperor's people, what is nothing to cut a hole in the bow of a sealed ship? He did not handle it properly, which caused Lu Song's death.
When a massacre occurs, it will be considered a high price if you don't go to jail, let alone your merits when you return home.
Xie Jie had not thought so much these days, and now he was sweating after listening to Mr. Zhong's analysis. The two looked at each other, and then looked at Zhong Yanwen, waiting for him to continue.
Zhong Yanwen was shocked by the sight, and after sorting out his words, he asked: "Did the two adults fight with the Spanish Navy?"
The two imperial envoys shook their heads first, and then nodded. Xiao Chongye said: "Except for the Lao Shi Zi Sheng, I have never seen any other warships."
Zhong Yanwen frowned and said: "No! There is a large naval port sixteen miles east of Manila Port. I have gone and counted it. There are six large ships and twenty or thirty small ships. Why don't you come out to see the battle now?"
Fleet commander Qi Zuoguo interjected: "I have sent a ship to investigate, but there are no ships in the port now."
At this time, Zhong Yanwen was full of contempt for the trio, thinking: What the hell are these things? Now that the imperial court can send such stupid officials and mediocre generals as envoys, it shows the extent of their incompetence. Why am I going out to sea to make a living?
The move was considered correct.
He was slandering in his belly, but he said respectfully on his face: "My lords, Manila is the hub of the Spanish in the entire Southeast Asia. Now that all the warships are missing, they must be ambushing behind our fleet, waiting for our army to attack the city without success and the ammunition is empty.
Attacks must be guarded against."
Xiao Chongye, Xie Jie and Qi Zuoguo all scratched their heads when they heard this. Listening to Mr. Zhong's analysis, the matter is indeed very serious. Maybe after the second year of Wanli, the biggest tragedy of losing a teacher and humiliating the country will happen to them.
On the body.
At this time, Xiao Chongye no longer had the arrogance of being an "imperial envoy from heaven". He took a deep breath and regained his composure. He looked at Zhong Yanwen with stern eyes and asked in a deep voice: "Mr. Zhong is familiar with the situation here. Do you have any clever ideas?"
Zhong Yanwen smiled and said: "There is no clever plan. I only have a clumsy plan for your reference." He cleared his throat: "For the current plan, we have to capture Manila! In this way, everyone will survive!"
Qi Zuoguo interjected: "Mr. Zhong, the sealing fleet has a total of 900 elite soldiers, 378 gunners, and 651 sailors - these sailors have basically no combat skills. Can people with this idea capture this city?"
"
Zhong Yanwen first sighed: "It's not enough to attack the city with people." After Xiao Chongye and several others frowned, he put a smile on his face and said: "But the full force in Manila is only 800 soldiers, and the indigenous soldiers are
Although it is thousands, it is negligible. Although he relies on the strong city, we are not without reinforcements. We and the King of Lu's family can summon 600 brave warriors. In addition, the brave warriors who are looking for mines in Luzon and exploring
It is very possible for us to raise 1,500 soldiers!"
When Xiao Chongye heard this, his breathing became heavy. If there were unexpected reinforcements, he might not be able to give it a try!
Mr. Zhong added: "Now there are tens of thousands of people in the five towns, and the adult population is at least 10,000. There is no shortage of knives, axes and other cold weapons - if we open the city gates or walls first, guide them to pour water into the city.
——" He made a tilting gesture and said, "How many Spaniards are there? Not enough to fight three of them! If the native soldiers see the general trend and rebel, it will be a fortune if a Spaniard can come out!"
Then he looked at Xie Jie and said, "Mr. Xie, hasn't the Military Intelligence Bureau buried a few nails in Manila over the years? If it can be mobilized to get some elite people to enter the city and steal the city gate at night - this battle will be won!"
Xiao Chongye looked at Xie Jie after hearing the words. Xie Jie pondered for a moment and nodded silently. Zhong Yanwen was overjoyed and stood up and said: "Sir, I have taken advantage of the opportunity of providing vegetables to the city to go in and conduct detailed inspections several times. I can
The streets and buildings in the entire city are roughly drawn. Let's work together to give advice on how to fight this battle, okay?"