prosperous age

Luzon, the port of Hawksbill Turtle.

With the South China Sea Navy stationed here for a long time, the city and port are now very different from when Lin Feng first started his business.

The city of Hawksbill has been replaced by a tall city wall, no longer the wooden fence of the past.

Inside the city walls, houses stood side by side, housing many families of garrison troops, as well as some local natives.

Just like in Beijing, the roads are very well planned, and there are even people specifically assigned to clean the streets.

It can be said that the Ministry of Works who designed the Tortoiseshell City almost completely copied the inner city of the Ming Dynasty at that time, designing four main streets with two horizontal and two vertical lines, dividing the city into nine parts.

The dock area is divided into two parts, both of which are made of stone seawalls that extend into the sea.

The docks closer to the city were designated for merchant ships, while the other side was a water fortress.

On either side of the harbor entrance, a huge gun emplacement was built, equipped with several heavy general cannons that the Ming Dynasty could manufacture to deter the sea frontier.

The Luzon naval force typically has only about twenty warships stationed there year-round, including ten gunboats and ten small ships.

However, at this moment, on the merchant ship dock to the left, more than ten merchant ships were quietly moored there, and many sailors were gathered around, chatting idly in twos and threes.

They were naturally discussing the current situation on Luzon Island.

"Last night, I heard that the patrols in the south clashed with the Westerners again, and they even stuck their bayonets into their gun barrels."

"If it's like this every day, we might as well start fighting sooner."

"That's right, we can't leave now either. Once war breaks out, we'll have to sail out to sea."

Merchant ships of this era had a unique characteristic that later merchant ships never possessed: they were armed.

There were no purely civilian ships; all merchant ships were equipped with firearms and were considered armed merchant ships, ready to be deployed as warships at any time.

All merchant ships that obtain a license must unconditionally obey the navy's orders.

Whenever the navy requisitions a ship, the ship owner and sailors must unconditionally obey orders and follow instructions.

Okay, this was the full strength of the Ming navy in Luzon at that time: more than thirty warships.

To the south, the Spanish navy in the Philippines only had a dozen or so warships, which should not have made the Ming army nervous.

However, the presence of three treasure ships and two large escort vessels docked in Manila Harbor at this time made the Ming army on the island very nervous.

These five warships, estimated to be around 2000 tons each, are definitely behemoths in Luzon.

In later times, that would be a thousand-ton warship, no wonder it attracted the attention of the Ming army on the island.

"I always felt that the treasure ship of the Western barbarians, with so many cannon windows, was probably fake."

"It's true that it's fake, but I heard that the number of cannons on their ships depends on how much cargo they carry."

I heard that because there are many goods, fewer cannons are loaded.

If there are few goods, then there will be many cannons.

"I've heard about it too, it's said to be for counterweight."

"I also heard Western sailors say that the ship can carry up to a hundred cannons, but that's only when there's a war."

Normally, there are only thirty to fifty cannons, which isn't considered particularly powerful.

"Alright, how many cannons do you have on your ship? Tell me."

"We're a merchant ship, how can we compete with their warships?"

Merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty were mostly equipped with 4-6 cannons, and very few were equipped with more than 10 cannons.

After all, it was mainly for self-defense, and could not be compared to the gunboats of a navy.

"But it's so big, it'll take a lot of effort to sink it."

"hehe."

"Ha ha."

A sailor's casual remark drew a burst of laughter from the others.

The treasure ships they were referring to were, of course, the Manila Galleons, which typically have a displacement of 1000 to 2000 tons. At that moment, three large ships of over 1,000 tons each were docked in Manila, demonstrating their formidable strength.

In the distance, two thousand-ton gunboats slowly entered from the entrance; they were the naval warships that were out on patrol today.

The sailors' attention was drawn to it, after all, it was naval equipment, and its firepower was far superior to that of their armed merchant ships.

Meanwhile, at the port of Manila, Manila Governor Sanders and the commander of the Jumbo fleet were engaged in a heated argument over whether to load or unload cargo.

"Your Excellency, the goods must be loaded onto the ship, otherwise it will delay the journey."

The fleet commander reiterated his demands, stating that although he was forced to remain there, it did not mean he was powerless to do anything.

A large amount of supplies on the treasure ship needs to be loaded onto the ship, instead of everyone just sitting here doing nothing.

However, Governor Sand disagreed with his view, which is why he came from the city to stop the loading operation.

"No, the large sailing ship must have enough space."

"If we really go to war with the Ming Dynasty, I will need three large sailing ships and two escort ships to lead the Philippine fleet to defeat the Ming navy."

Lopez is not in the city now; he has to shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending the Philippines.

Therefore, he has temporarily transferred command of the navy to the fleet commander.

However, this does not mean that he will let the other party do as he pleases.

In fact, most of the governors appointed by Spain during this period were high-ranking officers who had distinguished themselves in both land and sea battles.

In the Spanish colonial system, local governors often personally served as commanders of their local fleets.

Simply handing over the position of city defense commander of the colony to a professional officer is also necessary for handling daily defense matters.

However, they are also capable of commanding troops in combat.

Sander's plan was that if war became inevitable, the Philippine Navy would use three large sailing ships as the spearhead and frigates as the flanks to lead the Philippine Navy in a frontal assault on the Ming Navy.

They defeated the Ming Dynasty navy with the overwhelming firepower of their large warships.

In reality, the loss of small and medium-sized warships would not affect the outcome of the war.

If his main warships can sink the Ming flagship and other large warships, they can gain control of the waters near the Philippines and win the war.

He needed to arm those capital ships to the maximum extent possible, even going so far as to move some cannons from the city walls onto the ships.

"Listen to me, I plan to equip the large sailing ships with 70 or 80 cannons, plus the more than 50 cannons on the escort ships, that's more than 300 cannons, which will definitely be able to deter the Ming navy."

Their gunboats were too small, only half the size of large sailing ships.

The large ships they were able to build were the kind of square merchant ships.

It has a strong cargo-carrying capacity, but it is not qualified as a warship.

We must make full use of our advantages, equip ourselves with more artillery, and defeat them.

Governor Sand explained his plan on how to defeat the numerically superior Ming navy at sea.

"Your Excellency the Governor"

The fleet commander wanted to explain, but Governor Sander interrupted him, saying, "I understand your concerns and the mission you accepted."

However, this concerns the security of the Philippines.

Without this place, your existence would have no meaning.

"Place the goods in the city first. Once the affairs with the Ming Dynasty are settled, I will mobilize the natives inside and outside the city to help you load them onto the ships as quickly as possible, so as not to delay the journey."

The commander of the treasure ship fleet just rolled his eyes secretly; although he was disdainful, he really couldn't refute it.

The journey will definitely be delayed, but they'll be at sea then, so how can the Governor-General of Manila take responsibility? "Shouldn't the Governor-General's office send someone north to negotiate with the Ming people again?"

Otherwise, if this continues, it will be difficult for me to explain to His Excellency Pedro.

He could only make a last-ditch effort, even though he knew that the Mexican governor's office was unlikely to be able to suppress Sander at this time.

After all, the Philippines was Sander's lifeline, and for the sake of his own future, he would probably risk offending Governor Pedro's orders to forcefully retain his fleet.

"Okay, I'll obey orders."

But Your Excellency, please provide me with a warrant.

He could only make one final request: that at least when he returned to Mexico after the delay, he could explain his reasons for being late to the Governor General's Office.

"Of course, I'll give you the warrant."

Sander readily agreed to his request.

Because of the war, he certainly still had the authority to temporarily mobilize the Spanish navy.

Even if Pedro were to his face, he couldn't say anything.

While tensions were high in the Philippines, on the other side of the world, in the Spanish royal palace, King Philip II was also organizing an emergency meeting.

"Go ahead."

The king said to a Spanish diplomat.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The diplomat first expressed his respect to the king before turning around and speaking tactfully.

"Last month, we discovered that the HMS Queen Elizabeth had suddenly reappeared in Portsmouth harbor after being missing for nearly a year. According to intelligence we obtained, they returned with a batch of artillery purchased from somewhere."

While the diplomat was explaining the situation, the Spanish ministers below only stirred slightly.

The cannons that the British could procure were either from France or, perhaps, from the Ottoman Empire.

In the past two years, relations between the two countries have warmed up rapidly.

With this in mind, the officials all considered whether to blockade the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Strait of Gibraltar.

However, the diplomat did not stop there; he continued to recount the intelligence he had gathered.

"According to subsequent intelligence, some of these cannons remained in Britain, while others were loaded onto ships and supposedly transported to the Netherlands."

The moment the diplomat uttered those words, the royal palace was thrown into turmoil.

At this time, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma in Spain, was suppressing the Dutch rebellion on the orders of the King.

Well, as the ruler of the Netherlands, Philip II was absolutely qualified to inherit that territory and was the true ruler of the Netherlands.

Just as he is now King of Portugal, this is a rule with blood ties, a succession, a rule with legal basis, and a rule blessed by the Pope.

However, there is a group of people who keep trying to challenge them.

"According to our intelligence from Britain and the Netherlands, the British appear to be secretly negotiating with the Dutch rebels in preparation for an agreement, which the British support."

"We must stop them; they've gone too far."

Before the diplomat could finish speaking, angry ministers below shouted.

"Quiet down."

The king spoke softly from his throne, and though his voice was low, the hall immediately fell silent.

The ministers, who had been so agitated just moments before, all stopped talking and looked at the king on the throne.

"Alexander has just led his army to capture Brussels and is preparing to gather his forces to take Antwerp, the last stronghold of the rebels."

"The British are providing them with cannons at this time; I really don't know what they want to do?"

Philip II had barely suppressed his anger in his words, but he still couldn't hide his emotions.

"Your Majesty, last month, our Peruvian fleet was also attacked by English pirates while on a voyage."

Fortunately, the warriors fought bravely and repelled their attack.

A naval officer stood up and exclaimed, “We should wipe out these pirates, hang them, and their queen, the woman who supports such despicable means.”

“Peruvian fleets transport silver, and frequent attacks on them would impact the kingdom’s finances.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer also stood up to support the naval officer's opinion.

In particular, Peruvian fleets are quite extraordinary; all the silver mined there is transported back to Peru.

Unlike the silver produced in Mexico, much of the silver there was shipped to the Ming Dynasty to purchase luxury goods.

The kingdom's expenses were mostly supported by several South American silver mines.

"What were they negotiating? Were the British using the money they plundered to support the Dutch against us?"

A minister loudly questioned the diplomat.

"seems not."

The man shrugged and said with a wry smile, "Because of their repeated defeats on the battlefield, they hope that Britain can send troops to help them resist the army led by the Duke of Parma."

"Did the British agree?"

The minister was very surprised by the answer he received and asked in a trembling voice.

No country in Europe had ever openly supported rebels before.

"do not know."

This time, the diplomats shook their heads. They indeed had not yet received accurate intelligence and did not know what Elizabeth would choose.

"We need to continue recruiting people to go to the Netherlands, suppress the traitors there as soon as possible, and purify their souls with the sacred fire."

The cardinal who was closest to the king and had remained silent until now finally spoke.

The rebellion in the Netherlands has evolved from initial opposition to Spanish taxation into a resistance movement against the King and the Papacy, particularly due to the intervention in Protestant territories, which has greatly displeased the Papacy.

In particular, the Dutch resistance movement has spread to some border cities of the Holy Roman Empire, where some people support the Dutch resistance, are dissatisfied with the Papacy, and attack churches.

At this time in Europe, driven by religion and self-interest, nations were frantically preparing for war.

"Increasing the number of troops sent to the Netherlands must be implemented immediately."

Strengthening the defense of air routes between Spain and New Spain is also imperative.

Send a message to Elizabeth: if she insists on helping the Netherlands, it will be tantamount to making an enemy of Spain, a declaration of war.

After the bishop expressed his opinion, Philip II finally made up his mind to end the current chaos through war.

His previous idea of ​​ending the conflict between the two countries by marrying Elizabeth has been completely abandoned.

"From now on, the Kingdom's finances will prioritize funding for the army and navy, as the Kingdom needs to prepare for a war."

Write to the Governor-General of Mexico and ask them to increase the amount of silver shipped to the Kingdom; we need to recruit more soldiers.

We should appropriately reduce our procurement in the East.

The king's order naturally received the support of all the ministers.

That was an order backed by the Papacy, and they were to devote themselves fully to the war to defend the Papacy.

On the other side of the world, the Ming Dynasty was naturally completely unaware of this.

Soon, the seemingly endless influx of silver they had been waiting for would begin to gradually decrease, thus triggering the beginning of a silver crisis that might influence the mystery of the Ming Dynasty's demise. (End of Chapter)