I

A colonial history is a history of war.

Spain occupied Manila, and the Netherlands occupied Batavia. They were all played over and over again.

From the early years of Wanli to Chongzhen's ascension to the throne, not only the aboriginals in northern Luzon rose up to rebel, but also the aboriginals in the southern Philippine Islands also broke out in uprising in full swing. The Filipino Chinese participated in almost the whole process, because their tax payable was much higher than that of the local aborigines!

Every time an uprising is faced, if the scale is too large, Spain's response method is to indent Manila's defense.

Efforts were made to procrastinate until internal conflicts among the insurgents were aroused. During this period, envoys were actively sent to provoke. Anyway, the origin of the rebel army is varied, and opportunities will definitely be found, and there will definitely be betrayers. Even the leaders of the rebel army turned against each other directly, because there were a lot of leaders.

When the insurgents fought among themselves or withdrew, Spain took the opportunity to launch a counter-offensive, brutally suppressed and massacred the rebels.

It was the same this time, the Philippine governor stood still and even took back the fleet, determined to defend Manila city to the death.

"Master, a letter from the Dutchman!"

Wang Hui led troops to successfully capture Turtle Shell City, and the navy led by Zheng Zhilong also moved over and used it as a military base.

Fuzhou, Zhuluo (Taiwan), Hawksbill (Luzon), the three major logistics centers are connected in a line, and a large number of maritime merchants are transferring materials to prepare for the next long-term siege.

Hawksbill 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 slaughtered by the Philippines twice.

Zheng Zhilong opened the letter, but it was from Peter, the Dutch commander.

"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. Many indigenous people on Cebu Island are also resisting Spain, about 800 or so. The Kirishima natives helped Holland fight the war."

Wang Hui laughed and said, "It's just that we are honest, and we actually dispatched 3,500 soldiers. Spain and the Netherlands have only a few hundred soldiers, but they are pulling tens of thousands of natives to fight."

"Has the area around Tortoiseshell City been cleaned up?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

Wang Hui replied: "The aborigines who participated in the massacre of the Han people have been completely wiped out. 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 young around Tortoiseshell City, don't you think it's too cruel?

A few months ago, even aboriginal children carried sticks and followed their elders to massacre Chinese. The same is true for old people and women. There are almost no innocent people, and those who can walk are murderers!

Wang Hui added: "The aborigines in the mountains are all tribes close to the Chinese. I heard from those sea merchants that the pirate Lin Feng hid in the mountains after his defeat and was accepted by the aborigines in the mountains. Many Fujian remnants , married and had children with the aborigines 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 sighing: "The headhunters who drink blood and kill for pleasure are actually close to the Han people and even protect the Han people. Who will believe this?"

Two days later, Guike, the missionary official of the expeditionary force, brought the surviving Han Chinese and headhunters to Tortoiseshell City.

The surviving Han people here are only more than 300, all of them are dressed in rags, and some even wear aboriginal fur clothes. When they saw Zheng Zhilong and Wang Hui, they immediately knelt down collectively, and then wailed and begged for revenge.

Fang Guike replied: "Marshal Zheng, General Wang, and the Han people who hid in the mountains successfully brought back 317 people. There are also 285 indigenous warriors who are willing to fight with us."

Wang Hui nodded and smiled: "Thanks for your hard work."

Fang Guike said: "Some 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 we can't just treat them as savages. This is the case in Luzon, and in Taiwan. The same is true, we should try to educate those headhunters."

"This matter, your Majesty, you yourself." Wang Hui was noncommittal.

Zheng Zhilong said: "Everything is ready, let's march to Manila."

...

There are Spanish villages and towns along the coast, but the Datong Army is too lazy to attack them.

In these Spanish villages and towns, the number of Spaniards is actually very small. Just some planters, the chiefs of the villages and towns must be missionaries, and every missionary must be a big landowner!

Spain's Philippine colony is also dubbed the "Church Empire".

There are no local officials, a missionary manages a piece. The archbishop of Manila can even impeach the governor and act as the governor's affairs when the governor is absent.

Hawksbill City is near Dagupan, less than 200 kilometers away from Manila.

But one is located in Lingayen Bay, and the other is located in Manila Bay, and you have to go around slowly by sea, because there are so many mountains and forests that it is difficult to pass by land.

Before the Chinese fleet sailed into Manila Bay, Corregidor Island had already ignited the flames.

Corregidor Island is located at the throat of Manila Bay, where there are lighthouses, beacon towers, forts and castles.

"Order to bombard the fort!" Zheng Zhilong said.

48 warships of the Datong Navy lined up and bombarded the forts on the island.

At the same time, the small boat was lowered from the ship, and under the cover of the firepower of the battleship, the expeditionary soldiers rowed the small boat and tried to land and fight.

Under the pouring of artillery fire, the Spanish defenders quickly abandoned the shore forts, and all shrank into small castles on the island. It was the kind of low bastion again, it was difficult for artillery to hit, and the army could only slowly capture it.

There are also turrets in the castle, more than a dozen city defense guns, firing continuously at the landing troops.

Wang Hui, who led the troops to land, suffered from headaches. In just over ten minutes, two people from the Datong Army were bombarded to death, and more than 30 people from the indigenous army were bombarded to death. This has just landed, and the attack on the castle has not yet begun.

Before the expedition, Wang Hui received special training, mainly learning how to attack European castles.

Three words: dig tunnels!

3,500 Datong troops and nearly 10,000 indigenous troops were temporarily transferred to dig trenches.

They took out the hoes and shovels they had prepared long ago, and faced the shells fired by the castle, they first dug a trench to hide in. After digging this defensive trench, they suffered another loss, and more than 60 people were killed by the castle artillery.

"Damn it, after the castle was taken down, all the red-haired ghosts inside were killed!"

Lin Ruyi was cursing and doing earthworks. He was a soldier in the first year of the Republic of China. As a result of three years of elementary school and a new type of education, he was promoted very quickly, and he was promoted to the head of the sentry (commanding one hundred soldiers) in less than two years.

This guy is digging trenches with the soldiers. After the outer defensive trenches are dug, they dig diagonally towards the castle, using a "Z" shaped trench to approach the castle bit by bit.

"Mr. Whistle, we can't dig ahead." The soldier began to complain.

Lin Ruyi said: "Dig slowly if you can't dig."

There is a sandy beach by the sea, and the digging speed is very fast, but the stones are encountered before digging far.

For a whole day, the trenches only advanced more than 20 meters.

The Spaniards in the castle were also very helpless. Since the Chinese soldiers hid in the trenches, it would be a waste of gunpowder if they fired again.

"Where did the red-haired ghost's warship go?"

Zheng Zhilong stood in the captain's cabin of the flagship and looked around with binoculars, but found no sign of the Spanish fleet.

A big battle, boring and boring, is digging and digging from beginning to end.

After digging for four days in a row, the Dutch fleet came, as did the Sulu and Brunei fleets. The armies of several countries gathered in Manila Bay, but they still did not see the Spanish fleet.

Peter, the commander of the Dutch army, came to Zheng Zhilong's flagship in a small boat.

"Meet you again, Zheng." Peter greeted with a smile, and he seemed to be 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 brought 3,000 natives to continue to besiege 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 Sulu, looted Zamboanga, burned the city, and then occupied and rebuilt it.

There were only so many Spanish colonists, and with the continuous expansion, troops had to be garrisoned.

There are 200 stationed in places with many places, and 50 stationed in places with few places, which quickly dilutes the strength of Manila. Today, the number of Spanish defenders in Manila is less than 300.

Even if Manila cannot be captured, as long as it can gain a firm foothold in Zamboanga, the Dutch East India Company will also 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."

The guy left after speaking, landed in a small boat, hid in a trench and joined 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 that there were 3,500 people coming, Peter was a little nervous.

The two sides have not negotiated a spoils sharing agreement, and it is unknown who owns Manila.

And Peter only led 800 troops to the expedition, and left 50 in Cebu Island. How did he win the 3,500 Datong Army?

Peter took out a pen and paper on the spot, wrote a letter to the governor of Batavia, and sent someone to send it back immediately by boat. The content is very simple: the Dutch Army cannot fight the Chinese Army. If you want to rob Manila, you must block it with warships for a long time.

In fact, Governor Batavia also has its own bottom line for negotiations.

That is, 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 occupies those islands, it is equivalent to controlling the northern spice waterway and the necessary place from the Americas to Southeast Asia.

On the eighth day of trenching, a warship came from the south.

"Sir, the Spanish fleet is in the south and attacked our fleet and army in Cebu Island! Four warships have been lost, and the army...has collapsed!"

It doesn't matter if the army collapses, anyway, only 50 people are left, and the lives of thousands of native soldiers are none of the business of the Dutch colonists?

It is the loss of four warships, which makes the Dutch very painful.

When the Spanish fleet came in mighty force, both Zheng Zhilong and Peter understood what was going on.

The Pacific route has resumed, and the Spanish galleons in America are back!

A total of six Spanish galleons, the largest displacement of 1200 tons, the smallest displacement of 500 tons. In addition, there are 16 small warships and armed merchant ships.

A naval battle is about to break out, and a 500-ton warship can deal with it, but a larger warship is completely blind.

Whether it is the Dutch Navy or the Chinese Navy, there is nothing they can do about this kind of sailing ship!