prosperous age

The cultural division between the north and the south caused Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming Dynasty, a lot of headaches. The North-South List Case in the early Ming Dynasty better reflected this opposition.

The Ming Dynasty originated in the south. Both the imperial examination system and the orthodox interpretation of Confucianism were defined by Southern Song Neo-Confucianism. The core of the Ming Dynasty's civil servants were mainly meritorious officials from Jianghuai and scholars from Liangzhe.

However, the northern gentry integrated the cultural heritage of the old land of Youyun, appearing to have a more pragmatic Confucian culture.

When the Ming Dynasty was established, Xu Da was still on his way to the Northern Expedition. The Ming Dynasty had to face these problems: how to open up the psychological barriers of the Han people in the north.

The only way is to recognize the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty. Only in this way can the mentality of the northern gentry be straightened out. By placing the Ming Dynasty from the perspective of the successor, the contradictions left over from the Yuan Dynasty can be naturally brought into one circle.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted this method to deal with the conflicts between the North and the South, and many of his policies were biased towards the North.

After the country has settled down, it will implement a large-scale immigration policy to reshape the order of common belonging.

Later, Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di directly moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.

But did the Ming Dynasty completely resolve the conflict between the North and the South?

Actually not.

The political center of the Ming Dynasty was in Beijing, but the economic center was in the south.

The Ming Dynasty's policy of emphasizing land tax and ignoring commercial tax made the Zhu family pay more attention to its rule over the north, while most of the gentry in the south had long since abandoned their dependence on farmland and actively participated in commerce.

Land annexation also existed in the south, but the southern gentry were more obsessed with defending their clan and hometown, and their wealth came more from the profits of commercial trade.

Economic differences determine inconsistencies in ideas. The economies of the South and the North, which are mainly based on commerce, are completely different from the old tradition of grain growing in the North.

At the same time, the consistency of commercial interests led to the alliance of southern gentry. In the Ming Dynasty, there were the Donglin Party, the Chu Party, and the Zhejiang Party. The north did not have these conditions, so it was naturally impossible to form an alliance to unite against dissidents. The north only had the eunuch party and the eunuch group that continued the imperial power.

There has always been antagonism between the North and the South, but it has been masked by the appearance of party struggles.

The conflict between the North and the South was not resolved until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Lin Bixiu openly stated in front of Deng Zilong that he was a remnant of the Song Dynasty. Naturally, he not only refused to recognize the Mongols, but also refused to recognize that the Ming Dynasty was in compliance with the will of heaven and inherited the orthodox tradition. Naturally, Deng Zilong was very unhappy.

The orthodox status of the Ming Dynasty has long been engraved in the hearts of this generation.

This is also the reason why before Chongzhen, there was actually no soil for rebellion in the Ming Dynasty.

The previous uprisings, or rebellions, were mostly an act of ordinary people who were forced into a state of no survival and chose to become bandits to save themselves.

It was only after the Later Jin Dynasty repeatedly invaded and plundered that the people's hearts were gradually shaken.

You know, northerners are relatively more pragmatic.

Since the orthodox Ming Dynasty could no longer protect them, they naturally had to turn to those who could protect them.

Therefore, when the Manchus marched southwards, resistance in the north was slight and the main resistance was concentrated in the south.

Therefore, the people of the Confucius Mansion in Shandong could shamelessly switch from the Ming camp to the Dashun camp and then to the Qing camp in a very short period of time.

At this moment, Lin Bixiu knew that he had said something wrong. Thinking of the unequal status of both parties, he immediately bowed his head and admitted his mistake, saying: "Master Deng is right, I was wrong."

Deng Zilong also wanted to contact the barbarians as soon as possible at this time, so naturally he didn't want to get involved.

The man had fled overseas and was living in Manila, so he was too lazy to continue scolding him.

"Please introduce yourself. What is the name of the barbarian behind you?"

Deng Zilong didn't feel at all that he was standing on the land occupied by the barbarians. He still maintained the usual attitude of the Ming people towards the barbarians and said with disdain.

"This is Lieutenant Miguel of the Spanish Navy, the captain of this transport ship."

Lin Bixiu began to introduce himself and Deng Zilong listened on the side.

As for the lieutenant mentioned by Lin Bixiu, he was not clear about what this official title meant, but since he was the captain of this ship, he regarded him as a military officer at the level of a hundred households in the Ming Dynasty.

By the way, the Western military rank system appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries. There were not complete military ranks such as marshal, general, colonel, and lieutenant at the beginning, but they appeared gradually in the long history that followed.

According to current views, the first officers to appear were lieutenants, followed by marshals, and then generals and colonels.

In the early days of the military rank system, there was even a rank called "Captain General", and the status of this rank even surpassed that of marshal at one point.

Captain is a military commander derived from the Latin word "chief". This title first appeared in medieval France. It is the title of the commander of an independent military district. The commander of the military district is called the captain-general.

"I heard from Lord Wang that Lord Deng was sent by the Ming Kingdom to encircle and suppress the pirate Lin Feng?"

After Lin Bixiu introduced Miguel's identity, Wang Wanggao introduced Deng Zilong's identity.

After the introduction, the barbarians said a few words to Lin Bixiu that they could not understand, and Lin Bixiu began to translate.

"Yes, I led the fleet to Luzon at the order of the imperial court, because there was news that Lin Feng had fled here."

Therefore, in the following period of time, the two sides had an in-depth discussion on the Lin Feng issue and agreed that Lin Feng was the culprit who undermined the maritime traffic safety in East Asian waters and should be eliminated.

"I'm very happy to talk to General Deng here. Since we are talking about the joint encirclement and suppression of the Lin Feng pirate group, Lieutenant Miguel invites General Deng to go to Manila to discuss with Governor Ravisalli and Commander Savera."

Lin Bixiu translated again.

Miguel's invitation made Deng Zilong a little embarrassed.

But soon, he made a decision.

He really has to go on the trip to Manila, otherwise he would be seen as showing his cowardice.

As for the attitude towards the barbarians, Deng Zilong also made a decision, that is, to only discuss cooperation in encircling and suppressing the Lin Feng pirate group, and not mention anything else.

Now, it is better to let the barbarians know that Ming Dynasty intends to intervene in Luzon, otherwise it will be disadvantageous to Ming Dynasty.

So Deng Zilong laughed heartily and said, "If that's the case, let's go and discuss how to cooperate to encircle and suppress Lin Feng."

Soon, both parties agreed to set off for Manila early tomorrow morning and rest here for a day.

Deng Zilong invited Lieutenant Miguel and others from the barbarian country to have dinner in the camp. After dinner, he summoned Wang Wanggao and another captain.

“I will take the Dafu ship to Manila this time, and you guys should stay here and contact other people.

Also, we must continue to explore the surrounding terrain, especially the outskirts of玳瑁城, and draw a map as soon as possible.

Only then will we know how to surround Lin Feng and prevent him from escaping to other places on the island."

After Deng Zilong finished speaking, the two captains stood up and clasped their fists in agreement.

"While I'm away, Wang Wanggao will be in charge here."

Deng Zilong continued.

At this time, Wang Wanggao said, "Sir, let's calculate the date. Admiral Yu should have received our news. I think the navy fleet will arrive soon." Deng Zilong nodded. During the days he was on the island, in addition to sending people to draw maps of the surrounding area, he was also counting the time on his fingers.

Whether in ancient times or modern times, the so-called war planning, calculations, and tactical deductions are actually nothing more than calculating military strength and time.

Based on the known intelligence, calculate the time and choose to take action when your own military strength is the strongest and the enemy's strength is the weakest, strive to defeat the enemy's main force in one fell swoop and destroy the enemy's confidence in fighting.

Confidence is still very important in combat.

It is good to defeat the enemy without fighting, but that also requires absolute strength.

The reality is that in order to demonstrate one's own combat power, one must draw the sword and use thundering means to intimidate the opponent so that he dare not act rashly, or even choose to retreat and submit.

However, the so-called tactical victories of one city or one place that are valued by ordinary people are not worth mentioning in the eyes of military strategists.

As for the saying in China that small victories accumulate into big ones, that only happens under special circumstances and is rather accidental.

Throughout the history of war, it is normal for the main force to win the decisive battle, thus establishing victory in one fell swoop.

The so-called victory by surprise attack is too risky and is not the best choice for military strategists.

Although such a victory may come at a very small cost.

Therefore, Deng Zilong made up his mind that the best outcome of this trip to Manila would be to delay the time for the barbarians to attack Daimao City as much as possible by waiting for the arrival of the Ming navy.

When the Ming navy arrives, with the momentum created by its huge fleet, it will be a natural thing for the Ming to take root in Luzon.

Of course, by the way, when he came to Manila this time, Deng Zilong also wanted to take a look at the situation of this new city and understand the strength of the Yi army.

The next morning, the weather was good, accompanied by a gentle autumn breeze. The foreign merchant ship led the way, and Deng Zilong boarded the Dafu ship and followed closely behind to Manila City.

This place is actually only about 300 miles away from the Manila galleon, but after three days of sailing, the fleet arrived at Manila Bay near dusk.

Soon after entering the bay, a guide boat came out and led the two ships to the shore and dock at the pier.

After Miguel and Lin Bixiu hurriedly got off the boat, they came to greet Deng Zilong and sent someone to ask the tax officer at the dock to prepare rooms for the Ming officers and soldiers to rest. At the same time, he sent people into the city to notify Governor Ravisalli, the highest military and political chief in Manila, and Commander Savera, the highest commander of the armed forces.

At the best hotel near the pier, Miguel and Garcia took Deng Zilong to stay in the most luxurious room.

After all, Deng Zilong now represents what can be seen as the official government of the Ming Dynasty, not just the commander of a Ming navy fleet.

This is the Spanish understanding. Although there are indeed struggles between civil and military officials in the West, they are not as clear-cut as in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, at that time, most of the people in power in the West were nobles. Not only did they hold enormous power in the government, many of them also extended their hands into the military.

Just like the nobles in the early Ming Dynasty, they could almost influence the national government.

Because in the West, senior military officers are all aristocrats, so the Spaniards now also understand the Ming Dynasty in this way, believing that Deng Zilong was able to lead a fleet here, and was obviously also a member of the aristocracy in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, they are right to understand it this way.

Although the Ming Dynasty only had three ranks of nobility: duke, marquis, and earl, the hereditary commanders, hereditary thousand households, and hereditary hundred households could also be understood as inheritable titles, similar to the Western viscount and baron.

Therefore, the hereditary military positions in the Ming Dynasty were often referred to as military honors. In fact, they were also part of the nobility, but they just could not be shown on the stage.

On the night when Deng Zilong was resting in the hotel, Governor Ravisalli, Commander Savera, and other officials in the city gathered at the Governor's Office in Manila to discuss how to deal with the Ming people.

They did not blame Miguel for inviting the Ming generals here. It would be strange if they did not contact them now that they had arrived in the Philippines.

Similar to what Deng Zilong thought, they did not know that the Ming Dynasty had plans to get involved in the Philippines, but they considered the issue from the worst angle and were the first to speak out this result.

"Everyone, the Ming Kingdom is too close to here. I heard that the king here was enthroned by them.

What I am most worried about now is that the Ming army will not leave after arriving, which will be extremely disadvantageous to our control of this place."

Governor Ravi Sari spoke up.

He proposed this worst-case scenario, which is actually what all Spaniards in the Philippines are most worried about.

After knowing the history of this place and the strength of the big country in the north, it is impossible not to be afraid.

Although they conquered the Inca Empire, which had a population of tens of millions and an army of over 100,000, with less than two hundred musketeers, the Spaniards realized how lucky they were when they reviewed the operation.

All we can say is that God is on their side.

If they had not captured the monarch of the Inca Empire by chance, the war would never have ended so easily with their victory.

The Ming Dynasty in the north was obviously a superpower empire that was countless times more powerful than the Inca Empire.

Moreover, they had no chance of capturing the other side's emperor.

Yes, they already knew that the Ming Dynasty did not have a king, but an emperor.

Although this is not accepted by them, anything that is not approved by the Pope does not count.

"We don't have enough troops here. Even if we leave only the minimum number of soldiers in other places, we can only mobilize 600 to 700 people. Even if we arm the crews on the merchant ships at the dock, the number of troops will not exceed 1,200."

Commander Savera spoke up.

He automatically ignored the recently formed armed force composed of local people, although the current army was barely presentable.

But the Spaniards also knew that this place seemed to have once belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

"Do you remember the leader named Suleiman whom we killed? I heard that he is a descendant of the King of Luzon who was originally appointed by the Ming Dynasty. That's why he has such great appeal here."

Ravi Sari said again: "If the Ming people ask about this, it will be troublesome."

When they first arrived here, they found that the huge island of Luzon had no decent government, so they thought it was an ownerless place.

So after killing several of the most rebellious tribal leaders, they thought they had gained sovereignty over the area.

I only found out about the Kingdom of Luzon later.

"The Sulu Kingdom in the south seems to be the same. Their king was conferred by the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom."

Ravisalli added one last sentence.

"If I had known, I should have dealt with the Sulus earlier."

Savera said with some regret.

"Fortunately, it is the king's golden seal. It should have been minted into gold coins in Mexico now."

Ravi Sari said this with a smile, which actually revealed their intention, that is, they would never admit that there had ever been a king here. (End of this chapter)