I

The Manila galleon was actually a Spanish galleon.

Seventy years ago, during the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, Spain opened a route from America to East Asia.

Silk and porcelain from China, cotton cloth and gems from India were transported to Manila by merchants from various countries and sold directly to the Americas via large sailing ships. Silver, cocoa, and wool from the Americas were transported to Manila by galleons and exchanged for various Asian goods.

Zhang Juzheng's tax reform in the Ming Dynasty would have never been successful without the American silver shipped by the galleons. In other words, the content of the reform is different, and silver cannot become China's mainstream currency.

At the same time, the Manila galleon trade directly destroyed the American raw silk industry!

During the Zhengde and Jiajing years, Spain had developed the silk weaving industry in America. After the Chinese raw silk was shipped, American raw silk was quickly eliminated because Chinese raw silk was of high quality and low price.

Today, the market share of the American silk industry is absolutely monopolized by Chinese raw silk.

There is only one silk weaving factory in Mexico with 14,000 workers, and all the raw materials are Chinese raw silk. These American silks will be shipped to Europe for sale. The price is lower than Chinese silk, and they are highly sought after by middle- and lower-class nobles and middle- and lower-class merchants.

It can be understood that Chinese silk is a foreign product, and American silk is a domestic product. Domestic products are definitely not as good as foreign products.

As the sales of Chinese goods squeezed out Spanish products in the Americas, King Philip II of Spain ordered a restriction on the galleons trade fifty years ago. It was stipulated that no more than two large sailing ships could be sent to Mexico each year, and each ship could not carry more than 300 tons of cargo.

This restriction was obviously exploited and instead became a means for colonial officials to make money.

The governor of New Spain (Mexico) was even more powerful. Forty years ago, he ordered a ban on sericulture and silk weaving in Mexico. Mexican silk mills could only use Chinese raw silk!

Also fifty years ago, cotton cloth produced in China had destroyed the Philippine cotton textile industry.

As a result, the Governor-General of the Philippines issued an order prohibiting the natives from purchasing Chinese clothing materials. Two years after this ban was issued, the Philippine Governor was killed by Chinese mercenaries.

The Spanish colonists in the Philippines had a very complicated attitude towards the Chinese.

Positively, they need the Chinese for trade, the Chinese to build the city, and the Chinese to keep the city running.

On the negative side, they hate Chinese businessmen for dumping and Chinese businessmen for destroying industries in the Philippines and Mexico.

By the way, China’s cotton ban remains in place to this day.

Chinese cotton and silk were not allowed to be sold to Filipino natives, but only to official trading posts in the Philippines. This resulted in a loss of profits for China's maritime merchants. Even if there had been no massacre, as long as Zhao Han was willing to send troops, there would have been merchants helping the emperor fight the war!

…

In the waters west of Manila, a large-scale naval battle began.

Six Spanish galleons and 16 small warships faced off against nearly 100 warships from China, the Netherlands, Brunei, and Sulu.

Brunei and Sulu are all old-fashioned galleys, and their tonnage is very small and can be ignored.

The Dutch navy quickly circled to the west, and the Chinese navy deployed formations to the east and north. The fleets of the two countries tried to surround the Spanish fleet on three sides.

"Boom boom boom!"

Before the siege was completed, both sides began shelling.

At the 18th minute of the battle, a Chinese warship was severely damaged and very slowly tried to leave the battlefield.

In the 32nd minute, a Spanish warship was attacked by firepower several times greater than its own. The bow was directly riddled with holes, and even the captain was shattered by cannonballs.

"Stop bombing, join the gang and deal with the red-haired ghost's boat first!"

When the second Chinese warship suffered heavy damage, Zheng Zhilong asked his adjutant to signal. The Chinese naval warships are too fragile and it is difficult to win an artillery battle. It is more cost-effective to directly engage in boarding battles.

The Dutch Navy also likes to pick up the ship, especially when facing Spain.

The Chinese and Dutch coalition forces rushed forward almost at the same time.

The Spanish fleet fought and ran to prevent itself from being surrounded and to avoid engaging in boarding battles with the enemy.

Both sides chased each other from Manila Bay to Mindoro Island.

Mindoro, literally translated as "gold mine" in Spanish, was called "Mayi Country" during the Song and Ming Dynasties.

"Throwing grappling hook!"

Shanghai Navy Vice Admiral Hong Xu shouted excitedly while holding a telescope. Thanks to the Dutch interception, he finally caught up with a Spanish warship.

Hong Xu is a member of Shibazhi, an old pirate who travels across the South China Sea. In the past few years, in addition to transporting food and fishing, I also occasionally took the fleet on cruises, and I had already been filled with evil spirits.

A large number of hooks were shot from the Chinese warship, pulling the enemy and ourselves together. The Chinese warship also took the opportunity to activate its flamethrower.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The two sides fired at each other across the side of the ship. The Chinese sailors in leather armor joined in the fight after the first round of gunfire.

Hong Zhanfu is a member of Hong Xu's clan. He has been in the fifth server for a long time, but he is still reused because of it. When he led his team to jump into gangs, several sailors around him were shot at close range. Some fell on the deck and some fell into the sea.

"Bah!"

Hong Zhanfu crossed the side of the ship, and before he could stand firmly on his feet, he slashed at the enemy with his sword.

The leather armor on his chest was also cut, and he fought hard to kill the opponent, and then slashed at another Spanish arquebusier.

Another Chinese warship came to pick up the ship from the side. The two ships are attacking each other, and there are more and more Chinese sailors. It is only a matter of time to seize this warship.

The battle lasted from noon to evening. Only four of Spain's small warships managed to escape, and the rest were killed by the Chinese and Dutch coalition forces relying on their numerical superiority.

But those six Spanish galleons were really hard to swallow!

Especially that big ship with a displacement of 1,200 tons, which relied on the strength of the ship and the power of guns to run rampant on the battlefield. This large sailing ship alone killed four Chinese and Dutch warships.

There is no way to pick up the ship, no way to join forces, no way to attack with fire.

This thing has three or four decks, which is much taller than the Chinese and Dutch warships. Even if the siege is successful, the boarding battle will become a "siege battle". The sailors have to hold on to the rope to climb up, while the Spanish soldiers can shoot from above.

Wan Bangyan, the commander-in-chief of the Guangzhou Navy, was born in the Jiangxi Navy.

Wan Bangyan knew that he could not deal with the big guy, so he took all his warships to surround and intercept the 500-ton sailing ship - which was the smallest ship.

The smallest of the Spanish galleons, equivalent to the largest of the Dutch warships...

"Fight the ship and grab this ship!" Wan Bangyan's eyes turned red. He was extremely envious of these big European ships.

Although the Datong Navy has a lot of military expenditures, its mainstream warships are still contributed by Zheng Zhilong. The Zheng family sold it to the imperial court at cost price and made do with it. Even if they went to war with the Dutch, they could fight for their lives with their superior strength.

A lot of century-old wood from the mountainous areas of southern China has been accumulated, but it is still being brewed. It takes ten or eight years for the wood to be truly strong.

In another two years, the Datong Navy will be able to build its own ships!

In addition, some century-old teak wood was also imported from Myanmar and Cambodia. This is the top material for shipbuilding, better than oak, and it is currently all piled up in Guangzhou for brewing.

"Boom boom boom!"

A Guangzhou naval warship was approached and shot at by a 500-ton sailing ship as it approached the port.

The upper cabin and deck were instantly torn apart by shells, with wood flying everywhere. At least twenty Datong sailors and sailors were killed on the spot.

However, the hooks on the ship have been shot out, tightly grasping the large sailboat.

The other three Guangzhou battleships also shot out hooks one after another.

The Spanish sailors shot from above, while the sailors swung their swords to cut the ropes.

"The world is united, long live your Majesty!"

Zhang Hai is a fisherman in Guangzhou. He used to live in poverty. His Majesty the Emperor of Datong brought him a new life.

Seeing his comrades falling dead around him, Zhang Hai roared, held a sword in his mouth, climbed the rope with both hands, and quickly climbed towards the enemy ship. A comrade beside him screamed and fell, but the rope was cut.

More and more hooks were shot out, and more and more sailors climbed up. The Spanish sailors couldn't shoot at it, and the Spanish sailors couldn't cut it down.

More than 200 Datong Army sailors on each ship have died in battle and fallen into the water, and they are still climbing up.

Finally, Zhang Hai climbed onto the enemy ship and killed an arquebusier.

The Spanish matchlock soldiers on both sides immediately discarded their muskets and drew their swords to fight Zhang Hai. The Spanish sailors also rushed over with their swords.

"Long live!"

Zhang Hai roared and swung his sword, hacking to death the matchlock soldier on the right, but the matchlock soldier on the left stabbed him with a knife.

Fortunately, there was leather armor blocking the way. When the tip of the knife pierced the leather armor, the force was slightly deflected, and it only pierced the flesh on his side waist, almost hitting his internal organs.

Zhang Hai held the handle of the knife behind his back and stabbed it in the back without looking back.

He stabbed the enemy behind him to death with one knife, then drew his knife and charged forward. The enemy's knife was always stuck in his body, and the wound kept bleeding.

Since Zhang Hai boarded first, Datong sailors quickly followed up on the ship's side.

When the second Datong army climbed up, Zhang Hai had been injured in three places on his body, but he still stood on the side of the ship to stop the enemy.

"kill!"

The third Datong sailor boarded the ship. Zhang Hai had been injured in five places and was still fighting there with blood all over his body.

When the fourth Datong soldier boarded the ship, Zhang Hai collapsed and fainted, not knowing whether he was alive or dead.

The Dutch are also doing this. The Dutch flagship is eyeing a 700-ton sailing ship. Compared with the Dutch Army, the Dutch Navy was not afraid of death and climbed repeatedly despite bullets.

Unfortunately, there are too few Dutch people and they cannot afford to die.

Several Dutch warships surrounded and joined the ship. After suffering hundreds of casualties, they decisively chose to give up.

The Chinese navy values ​​ships. It doesn't matter if hundreds or even thousands of soldiers are killed if they can seize large sailing ships.

There are only so many Dutch sailors in the Far East, and one less one will die.

The hundreds of naval casualties have severely damaged the vitality of the Netherlands, which is a hundred times more heartbreaking than the death of a thousand army soldiers. Because the Dutch army could be recruited at will in the colonies, the navy often had to be supplemented from Europe.

Seeing that the large sailing ship was surrounded but was let go by the Dutch, Zheng Zhilong put down his telescope and cursed: "These red-haired ghosts really don't know how to fight. They are all fucking fools!"

"Boom boom boom!"

The big guy with a displacement of 1,200 tons is still showing its power, and another Chinese warship is crumbling.

More than 400 Chinese sailors who besieged the large sailing ship had been killed one after another. The Dutch simply gave up, but the Chinese navy was still trying its best. It was very likely that thousands of people would be killed before they could seize the ship.

At the same time, the Spanish naval commander was also frightened. He was afraid that his soldiers would collapse from fatigue and that the musketeers would run out of ammunition.

When the sky turned dark, the Dutch navy was the first to withdraw from the siege, and Zheng Zhilong had no choice but to withdraw from the siege.

In a naval battle, 2 Spanish small battleships were sunk, 11 were captured, and a 500-ton Spanish galleon was captured. 17 warships of the Datong Navy suffered heavy damage and 5 warships were sunk. Four warships of the Dutch Navy suffered heavy damage and no ships were sunk.

The Chinese Navy suffered heavy casualties, with more than 1,300 people killed, seriously injured, and missing.

In the Dutch Navy, more than 200 people were killed, seriously injured, and missing.

Of the six Spanish galleons, only the smallest one was captured by the Chinese navy, and the rest all sailed away.

If they follow their usual style of play and suffer such heavy losses, the Netherlands will directly choose to withdraw their troops.

However, China will not withdraw!