Boss Hu did not go south to Manila with the fleet again this time. As he said, although he has a special love for the military, the reality is that as the head of the family, he must first shoulder family responsibilities. He cannot put his hobby aside
Above responsibility.
The expedition fleet received the latest intelligence from Manila and further confirmed the operational plan of "landing first, then closing the port". Gao Yimin began to order all units of the Army Division to prepare for the landing, including the landing operation itself and the establishment of a beachhead after landing.
Fire reconnaissance, etc.
Theoretically speaking, with the current strength of the Spaniards in Manila, they should not be able to threaten the landing force. However, considering that this operation is actually an actual combat training for the Marine Corps, the procedures that should be in place are still not enough.
few.
Actual combat can best test the true strength of an army, and can also improve an army, or even make a qualitative leap. Gao Yimin has no doubt about this. In addition, the Spaniards also have some Luzon servants. Although these people have certain combat effectiveness,
It's not strong, but it would be even more embarrassing if you suffer unnecessary losses.
When Gao Yimin was in Liaodong, it was true to say that he was active, but if you really count on your fingers, he actually didn't get the chance to fight hard several times.
This time he came to fight Manila. When he first heard that the bastion was to be breached, he thought it was his chance to show off his skills. Who knew that the master and Miss Liu had already made plans, and the "flooded seven armies" had already been arranged.
After a naval battle that was caused by chance, the Beiyang side made a direct profit of more than 800,000 taels, and brought six large-scale ships that were no cheaper than the 800,000 taels. It was true that the ship had not even reached Manila, and the credit was enough.
What about Gao Yimin? Not long after the naval battle, he received news that Manila didn't even have two thousand soldiers, maybe only one thousand. A good fight is definitely a better fight, but he was so angry that stars appeared in his eyes.
Is it so difficult for me to get some credit for co-writing?
Having said that, we still have to fight the battle well. The enemy is in this situation, and if they still make a joke, then I will not be fooled in the future. I might as well invite myself to mine in the Xinzheng Coal Mine. Anyway, it will be embarrassing to come out.
Two days later, the expedition fleet arrived at Manila Bay. Manila Bay is a large bay, almost completely enclosed by land, located in the southwest of Luzon Island. In later generations, it was one of the largest harbors in the world, with an area of 2,000 square kilometers and the widest
58 kilometers away.
According to the information provided by the Nanyang Fleet earlier, there is an island called Corregidor about a hundred miles (actually 48 kilometers) west of Manila, dividing the entrance of the bay about 40 miles (actually 18 kilometers) wide into south and north.
There are two straits. Although the North Strait is not as wide as the South Strait, it is safer to navigate. It is about six miles wide.
The north and northeastern shores of this bay are connected to the Central Luzon Plain, and the coastal waters are relatively shallow. It is the largest commercial fishing ground in the Philippines in later generations. The Manila Port is in the easternmost part of Manila Bay, and the waters are deeper. In addition, the Bataan Peninsula and
The mountains of the Central Cordillera form a natural barrier, making Manila Bay an excellent anchorage.
Since the expedition fleet had a navigator supported by the Nanyang Fleet, the fleet entered Manila Bay and headed northeast, directly to the mouth of the Pasig River. However, for safety reasons, Gao Zhenxin sent the "Left Wing Ranger" to lead ten different ships.
Armed transport ships carrying land division troops patrolled near the mouth of Manila Bay to prevent the Spanish fleet from taking the opportunity to escape.
The landing immediately began to the north of the Pasig River. All ships launched rescue boats, and the engineering troops were sent out to quickly build temporary docks. Along with the engineering troops, there was also a company of infantry to guard against the enemy who had a slim chance of appearing.
.
The entire landing operation went extremely smoothly. It only took two hours for all the more than 13,000 Marine Division troops to land ashore, and it took more than an hour to unload artillery, spare ammunition, tents and even food and other supplies.
The fleet immediately started moving again, heading directly towards Manila from north to south. However, as soon as they moved, they found the Spanish fleet coming towards them.
The Spanish indeed only had four ships, and they were not all 1,200-ton large Galen ships, but two large Galen ships and two ordinary Galen ships - about 800 tons, about the same size as an armed transport ship.
This time, when they saw the Beiyang Fleet, they were far less heroic than I was. They immediately turned around and left without saying a word. However, they were not going back to Manila Port, but turning directly westward. It seemed that they were going to
Rush out of the bay.
But this action is of little significance, because this is within a bay, and the sea wind is much lighter than on the sea. In this case, it is obvious that the efficiency of the soft sail is not as good as that of the hard sail, so before it has gone very far, it
was overtaken by several warships from Beiyang.
I don’t know if the Spanish fleet came out this time without unified command at all. The four Galen ships scattered and fled. Unfortunately, this was of no use. The Beiyang Fleet, which had a huge numerical advantage, dispersed and outflanked them. After signaling that they could bombard them, a thousand guns were fired.
, only two volleys were fired, and the Spanish had three Galen ships flying white flags.
The other ship, whether due to good luck or excellent steering skills, managed to sneak out during the chaos, but that didn't make much sense. Soon after, it was surrounded by the "Left Wing Hussars" and ten armed transport ships.
.Under the wolf in front and the tiger behind, the Spanish Galen warship had no choice but to surrender.
The fleet did some prison work and immediately headed straight to Manila Port. There were indeed two Portuguese Galen ships in the port, both of which were large Galen ships. In addition, there were also some small cargo ships with various flags. According to the Nanyang Fleet
According to the pilot's introduction, most of these ships are ships from some small countries in Southeast Asia, and there are even Indian ships. They should be doing business.
The Portuguese responded quickly and quickly sent a small boat to inquire about the situation. In fact, the situation was obvious, because now a total of ten Western-style large Galenic soft sailing ships appeared in the formation of the Northern Expedition Fleet, and the flags were also changed.
, it looked like he was captured at first glance.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! It’s not that the Portuguese don’t understand the situation, they just want to know if they are safe.
The answer is yes. Although Portugal and Castile are now a "Union of Kings" or a "Federation of Common Kings", the Beiyang Fleet "seems" not to know this and clearly states that there is no hostile behavior towards Portugal.
The purpose of this fleet's trip is for the "Philippine Governor's Office", an illegal organization in the Kingdom of Castile, to raise tax rates again and again for no reason.
The Portuguese were very relieved, but they still couldn't help but ask if they could leave the port freely. This time, the answer from the Beiyang Fleet was no, saying that it was during the war and in order to avoid some unnecessary trouble, all
Ships in the port are not allowed to leave the port for the time being until the war is over or at least comes to an end.
The Portuguese carefully said that doing so was "against the rules," but Gao Zhenxin obviously wouldn't listen and simply said that Luzon was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. If a war occurred in a vassal state, Ming Dynasty would have the final say on all rules.
In fact, there is no international public law these days. Rules and so on are all self-advocated. In the final analysis, whoever has a bigger fist will have the real rules.
As a colonial empire, Portugal, how could these people not understand this truth? Didn't they do this in Africa, America and Asia? Therefore, they had no choice but to return to their own ships and wait for "the war to end or come to an end."
The situation in the port was chaotic for a while. Seeing that the Beiyang Fleet did not seem to have any intention of rushing in and setting fire, it finally gradually calmed down. However, this calm was only superficial. In fact, everyone was waiting with trepidation for the follow-up development.
By this time, the Philippine Governor's Palace had long been in chaos. The large treasure fleet that was supposed to arrive had not yet arrived. I heard rumors that a large number of sea ships had entered Manila Bay and there was no news about the dispatched cruise fleet.
The Governor-General of the Philippines was already very anxious and angry. As a result, the Portuguese in the port quietly sent someone to report that the ten Great Galen flags were now hung with book-sword flags - and that was nonsense, they were all captured!
Governor de Vera sat down on a high-backed chair, his eyes dull and his energy unfocused. He had enjoyed the service of several beautiful local women in the morning, so he felt that being the governor here was not so unbearable... He didn't know how he suddenly changed his mind.
In the meantime, the situation became so out of control.
The great treasure fleet and half of the main force of the Philippine fleet fell into the hands of the enemy. What else can he do as a governor? Not only is the Philippines thousands of miles away from the mainland of Castile, it is also thousands of miles away from the superior governorate of New Spain.
, counting on reinforcements is just a dream, but without reinforcements, how can you save the situation?
The news he just learned is very clear. The current enemy fleet in Manila Bay is at least more than a hundred ships, and they are definitely not the small sampans of the small countries in Southeast Asia. Their ships are more powerful than the Arab ships.
, all equipped with powerful artillery.
It can be said that this is a completely invincible fleet in the Nanyang region.
Hold on to the city of Manila? Governor de Vera also wants to hold on, but now there are only a thousand troops in the city, and Castilian merchants, missionaries, architects, etc. all together are less than 2,000. How can we hold on? Outside
It is impossible for more than a hundred large ships to have people disembarking to fight. Even if there are fifty people on each ship, I am afraid that I will not have an advantage.
Just as I was thinking about it, a new piece of news came, saying that a large number of enemy troops, at least more than 10,000, were found near the Pasig River, all wearing uniforms.
clothing), and has a large number of muskets and even many cannons.
When Governor de Vera heard this, most of his waist went cold. The navy and land came together, and they were equally powerful. It seemed that the opponent had planned and prepared the action for a long time. On the other hand, what about his own side? The naval power has almost been destroyed.
After being swept away, half of the army's troops have gone south to fight. It's just these thousand people who are guarding Manila... Is there a future, is there a way out?
However, surrender is not an option. Once the news of surrendering to the "indigenous" troops outside Europe spreads back to Europe, let alone de Vera, he will become the laughing stock of all Europe from now on. Even the great Kingdom of Castile,
The invincible Spain will also suffer a huge reputational blow.
Yes, the "indigenous" people of China are very different from other indigenous peoples, but no matter how different they are, they are still "indigenous" in the minds of the Spaniards at this moment. Why? Because the expansion of the Spanish colonial empire was too smooth, especially
With the miraculous expansion of the American continent, many people have long lost their awe for the "big countries with a long history" outside Europe.
In 1492 AD, after hundreds of years, Spain completed the restoration movement and unification of the Catholic country. In the same year, with the funding of Queen Isabella of Castile, Columbus, who was extremely thirsty for wealth, sailed
Arriving in America, the Spanish colonial empire began.
In the process of Western colonization of America, Spain (Castile) took the lead and later occupied most of Latin America (the vast area of America south of the United States) except Brazil. At that time, Latin America
There is an Aztec Empire in the north and an Inca Empire in the south. The populations of these two countries alone are estimated to be over tens of millions.
However, what defeated these two imperial armies was not the thousands of troops dispatched by the Kingdom of Castile, but two Spanish colonial armies consisting of hundreds or at most thousands of people.
Columbus and the so-called explorers after him explored the Americas and established colonial strongholds in the coastal areas of the Americas. These colonists soon discovered that the productivity level of these Native American Indians was not at the same level as that of Europe at the same time.
level, so Spain decided to colonize America.
If America at that time was more advanced and developed than Europe at the same time, then it is estimated that these colonists would have become businessmen. The law of the jungle is the truth of this era.
Compare the weapons and equipment of the Spanish army and the Inca Empire army at that time: Spanish soldiers at that time were equipped with armor, helmets, shields, spears, steel knives, steel swords, muskets and crossbows. They were basically fully armed, and the troops were also equipped with
There are artillery and cavalry units, and there are mature tactics to match them.
Take the weapons and equipment of the Inca Empire army established by the Indians as an example. They were mainly equipped with bronze spears, bone-pointed spears, wooden javelins, stone-thorned sticks, stone axes, bronze axes, Inca meteor hammers, etc.
For example, this Inca meteor hammer, which sounds very mysterious, is actually two spherical weights connected with ropes or chains. The firepower level of the two sides is obviously not in the same level, and the two sides are obviously not equal in terms of weapons, equipment and tactics.
Bullying is similar to how an adult bullies a child.
When these colonists discovered that the Indians were seriously lagging behind them, their self-confidence suddenly swelled and they came to the Americas one after another. Their purpose was also very pure, which was to obtain wealth, land, slaves, and even women. As for promoting civilized exchanges
Things like progress and progress are just nonsense.
In the confrontation between the Spanish colonial army and the Indian army, the psychological deterrent effect of muskets on the Indians was more obvious than its effect in actual combat.
As for artillery, it is not only powerful in destructive power and lethality in actual combat. When the Indians see such a loud noise, they will emit a stream of "strange smoke" and blow people up in an instant. It is as if they have seen a ghost.
This psychological fear is simply insurmountable for them.
What also frightened the Indians at that time was the European cavalry. About 50 million years ago, the earliest Eohorse, which was as tall as a dog, appeared in North America. About 4 million years ago, modern horses appeared.
It can be said that historically, North America has been the center of origin and evolution of horses. Later, horses entered the Eurasian continent through the Bering Strait. About thousands of years ago, horses were domesticated by humans.
However, horses were completely extinct in North America about 20,000 years ago, and even earlier in South America. When facing Indian soldiers, European cavalry was not only extremely lethal in actual combat, but also psychologically powerful.
To the Indians, the cavalrymen riding tall horses simply gave them a sense of fantasy as if they were coming from outside the world.
The Castilians relied on such asymmetric combat power and some conspiracies to gradually realize the colonial rule of Latin America. Because it was so smooth, the Castilians firmly believed that "God favors Spain."
Maintains a disdainful attitude towards "indigenous" countries outside Europe.
In Nanyang, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty still had some status in Manila and Malacca, while merchants from other countries were basically treated as colonial aborigines.
However, when the Ming Dynasty, an indigenous empire that did not look like indigenous people, really took action, Governor de Vera discovered that not only himself, but the entire Castile, the entire Spain and even the entire Europe had underestimated it!
After vaguely ordering the colonial army to guard the city cautiously, Governor de Vera's mind was still buzzing. He didn't know how long his order would last, and he didn't know how long his resistance would be.
Meaningless.
At this moment, the adjutant hurried over and reported, sweating profusely: "Your Majesty the Governor, the Ming Dynasty fleet has sent an envoy!"
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