Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 235: Expansion starts in Manila (seeking monthly tickets)

The Dutch have always been the shrewdest businessmen in the world. As a businessman, naturally you cannot leave your ship empty.

However, China is a highly self-sufficient country. With the rise of Liaodong industry, China no longer needs European products.

The Dutch could only bring some Nanyang spices and pepper to Daming for sale.

Putmans even bought perfumes that were only available in Europe on the streets of the capital. The unique glass bottles and gold-plated nozzle designs made these perfumes far more valuable than European perfumes.

Soon he filled his ships.

Although Europe has always been in deficit in trade with China.

But they were still keen to get tons of silver here.

It is true that Chinese silk, pottery, and tea are very popular.

But this was not enough for the Spanish to transport all the silver from Mexico to the Ming Dynasty.

These Europeans transported all the world's silver to the Ming Dynasty, in addition to exchanging it for a large number of commodities they needed.

Also exchange it for gold whenever possible.

Due to the lack of silver in the Ming Dynasty, the price of silver was high, much higher than in Europe during the same period.

In the first year of Hongwu, one tael of gold was exchanged for 4 taels of silver.

Although it has declined since then, it has still been higher than other countries in the world.

During the Jiajing period, one tael of gold could be exchanged for 6 taels of silver.

Although the exchange rate between Longqing and Wanli was stable at 1 tael of gold for 8 taels of silver, it was still much higher than the exchange rate of 1 tael of gold for 15 taels of silver in Europe during the same period.

It is precisely because of the huge exchange gap that Europeans like to transport silver to Daming for shopping or exchange it for gold.

Later generations generally believe that after the "Longqing Switch", approximately 1.7 million taels to 5 million taels of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty.

We have only seen the inflow of silver, but we have not seen those cunning Europeans taking advantage of the exchange rate difference to use large taels of silver to arbitrage our gold.

Among them, the Spanish made the most money. They transported almost all the silver plundered from the Americas to the Ming Dynasty.

However, Putmans discovered at this time that the gold exchange rate for silver on the Ming Dynasty market had all changed to 1 for 10, and China strictly prohibited the use of gold in foreign trade, and could only trade in silver.

At the same time, the exchange of gold and silver with European merchants was also prohibited.

However, the opportunities for exchange rate differences are equal. The West can use silver to exchange for a large amount of gold; Li Xianzhong can also use gold to exchange for a large amount of silver in Europe.

Of course, the premise of all this is that he must master a large amount of gold.

Therefore, the gold mines on Luzon Island made him salivate, which was also the fundamental reason why he took action against Manila.

Originally, when he learned that China was about to expedition to Manila, Fan Wencheng, the Minister of Revenue, almost looked sad. However, after hearing that there was a large amount of gold on the island, he became smiling again.

It was just that Li Xianzhong, who had just ascended the throne for less than three months, actually wanted to go on a personal expedition, which really shocked the cabinet.

Although Li Xianzhong has been absent from the capital for a long time since the Liaodong Army entered the customs, there have never been any problems with the operation of the Chinese government.

But after all, he had just ascended the throne, so how could he easily go on a personal expedition?

This time, all cabinet members, including Yan Mingtai and Li Sanshun, unanimously opposed it.

Yan Mingtai said: "The Spanish do not have many troops on Luzon Island. Sun Chuanting, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, has experience in conquering Taiwan Island, and he has the help of Ryukyu Bo Zheng Zhilong. Why does your Majesty need to personally take action?"

Li Sanshun also said: "With the latest sailing battleships of the Liaodong Navy assisting the battle, there is no need for Your Majesty to mobilize 2 imperial troops from Beijing to go south. This is too fussy!"

Li Xianzhong said: "The Spanish only established a few strongholds on the island, which has a large number of indigenous people. Unlike North Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, and Annan, Luzon does not have a unified political power. Although it is radiated by our Chinese civilization, Luzon But don’t Mu Wanghua.”

"It was easy to capture Spanish strongholds, but it would take a long time to completely conquer the land."

"Now that China's finances are tight, it is naturally impossible to invest in these newly conquered areas. We can only extract resources from Luzon to the maximum extent."

"The easiest way is to enslave the natives on the island and make them a free labor force. Provide China with a steady stream of gold mines, food, fruits and other resources and wealth!"

Li Xianzhong's words couldn't help but remind them of the large number of Korean workers in Liaodong.

Li Xianzhong only used a little grain and used them as livestock for many years.

However, these people are now able to survive. If they work hard as Li Xianzhong's "cattle" for five years, they can become citizens of China.

The development of Taiwan Island also owes its contribution to the development of these "livestock". The natives of the Dadu Kingdom on the island were also captured by Sun Chuanting and turned into "livestock".

When I think of these ministers, I understand.

It seems that Luzon will become an important economic growth point for the Chinese court in the near future.

Moreover, the island is also suitable for farming and can completely achieve self-sufficiency in food.

At present, China's approach to these places is no different from that of Western colonizers. The first step is to carry out bloody colonial rule and use relatively primitive methods to plunder resources.

It’s just that China has huge population resources.

As long as a large number of immigrants are carried out, these colonies can be turned into territories under their direct control.

Judging from Taiwan's experience, these places will be able to achieve direct administration in six or seven years.

It will take at most one to twenty years for complete territorialization.

Those natives who become enlightened will become Chinese and become the people of China.

And those natives who tried to resist and were unwilling to accept Chineseization were either killed directly or had the last bit of value drained of them through endless labor.

In the end, the cabinet accepted Li Xianzhong's concept of colonial rule and agreed to send 2 imperial troops south.

However, I still hope that Li Xianzhong will give up the idea of ​​​​conquering the army personally.

In the end, Li Xianzhong had to move out his son Li Shizu. He was born in the 48th year of Wanli and is now 13 years old. It's time for some experience.

Li Xianzhong decided that during his southern expedition, the prince would supervise the country and observe government affairs!

The cabinet reports to the prince every three days, and the prince observes decisions on major events.

The prince can express his own opinions, but it will not affect the final decision of the cabinet.

Although this supervisory state is only in name, it is actually just an observation of political affairs, but it is a rare opportunity for the prince.

Only by actually coming into contact with these government affairs and ministers can he have a more intuitive understanding.

Li Xianzhong still assigned homework to his son, and he would check it when he came back.

In Li Xianzhong's opinion, sometimes reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles.

If the cabinet hadn't stopped him, he would have really wanted to take his sons on the expedition together and let them learn in actual combat.

But considering that the second child is only 11 years old, let’s wait a few years.

The Chinese army assembled very quickly. In just five days, the grain warehouses in the capital were loaded onto ships, and a large amount of arms needed for the expedition were transported directly from Lushun to Tianjin.

Li Xianzhong knew very well that he could not give the Dutch time to go back and report the news.

When ready, the Liaodong Navy's two sailing battleships and dozens of large warships set sail.

Although the two sailing battleships with a displacement of 2 tons carried the heaviest supplies, their sails were still the fastest in the entire fleet because their sails used the latest three-masted crown sail.

The huge sail, which is 10 to meters high, provides the ship with a speed of more than knots.

Zheng Zhilong said: "In fact, as early as 100 years ago, a large number of Fujian people went to the Luzon Islands to do business, and more and more people bought land and settled near Manila."

"Later, the Spaniards on the island thought that the Chinese were too great a threat to them, so they united with the indigenous people on the island to oppress the Chinese and imposed high tariffs."

"The Chinese on the island have been fighting against them for decades. In the 23rd year of Wanli, the Chinese on the island launched an uprising and killed Dasmarinas, the governor of Manila, and hundreds of Spanish soldiers. In the end, these The men seized the Spanish flagship and fled Manila."

"After that, the Spaniards stepped up their suppression of the Chinese people. In the 33rd year of Wanli, the Spaniards united thousands of Yabang natives and 500 Japanese wanderers on the island to massacre the Chinese people on the island."

"Although the Chinese on the island resisted, they were brutally massacred because they lacked weapons and food."

"The Spaniards even ordered that no Chinese be spared. Even some people in Manila who kindly took in Chinese people were killed by them. In the end, more than 3 Chinese people on the island were slaughtered by them!"

The officers and soldiers of the Liaodong Navy on the ship were all indignant after hearing that the Spaniards slaughtered their compatriots, and claimed that these Spaniards must be cut into pieces!

Zheng Zhilong said: "Even the Ming Dynasty cut off trade with the Spaniards after hearing about this incident. I wonder why your Majesty wants to resume trade with them?"

Li Xianzhong said: "Of course it is to confuse the Spaniards. Just because I have resumed trade with them does not mean that I will not recover the blood debt of the year!"

"You must be ruthless when dealing with Westerners. These people are nothing more than a group of barbarians wearing a mask of civilization. I don't have so many etiquette to teach them here."

"From the moment their hands were stained with the blood of the Chinese people, they were destined for a tragic ending."

Zhu Chunchen on the side said: "Why are there Japanese people everywhere? There are actually traces of this group of dwarfs in Manila. We must make them look good!"

Nowadays, the three major camps in the capital controlled by Xungui only have a size of 10,000 people.

Zhu Chunchen simply resigned from his job in the Beijing camp and concentrated on making money.

This expedition was not within the budget, so the Ministry of Revenue naturally did not allocate any money. Li Xianzhong borrowed 200 million taels of silver from Liaodong Bank as the expenses for this expedition. But even when digging for gold in Manila, someone still has to put in the first piece of silver.

Zhu Chunchen and others were the investment group invited by Li Xianzhong.

After taking Manila, someone needs to invest in gold mines, plantations and so on.

There will always be someone to take over the property left by the Spaniards.

The indigenous people could pay Li Xianzhong a little money, but they didn't have much productivity.

Only by allowing the Chinese people to invest, the imperial court sends troops, investors provide money, and everyone joins forces to jointly develop and plunder.

These people then paid taxes to the court, allowing the court to continue to develop in the local area.

As long as there is money to be made, these people's enthusiasm for investment will be even higher. With their financial support, the exaggerated pace of the Chinese Empire will be faster!

If it depends entirely on the funds of the imperial court, China is now in dire straits, so where can we not spend money?

Even if Li Xianzhong tried to grab it, it wouldn't be enough!

Let alone ten or eight years, you won’t be able to bear it even if you have to cultivate for three to five years!

Fifteen days later, the fleet arrived at Keelung Port in Taiwan.

At this moment, the 1 Chinese troops led by Sun Chuanting and the Nanhai Navy were already on standby in Taiwan.

To be honest, the 30,000-strong army attacking Manila was indeed a bit of a fuss.

However, this campaign was just a preview. Although Manila was different from Annan, the tropical environment was still relatively similar.

These soldiers will be sent to Annan soon, and of course this is strictly confidential.

After the team rested for two days in Keelung, they set sail for Manila.

Taiwan is not far from Manila, crossing the Bashi Strait and entering Luzon Island.

Four days later, the Chinese fleet sailed into Manila Bay.

The reason why Li Xianzhong went south so quickly was that he did not give the Dutch time to inform Spain.

After the Spanish 6-ton Santiago was sunk six years ago, the Dutch have been eyeing Manila.

In order to ensure the safety of Manila, King Philip IV of Spain transferred the 1-ton San Juan from Europe!

There are also five 5-ton galenic ships that together with the San Juan form the main ship of the Manila fleet.

However, in order not to alert the enemy, the main fleet of the Chinese navy did not appear directly, but only dispatched two sail battleships.

Suddenly, two 2-ton giant ships flying the Sun-Moon-Dragon flag appeared, which still made the Spaniards a little panicked.

However, considering that the two sides had just signed a trade agreement, they did not dare to open fire rashly.

Soon the fleet staying in Manila stepped forward to try to prevent the two warships from entering Manila.

The huge warships of the Chinese Navy still frightened them, and they deliberately kept their distance.

The first mate said: "The Spanish warship is currently about 12 miles away from us and has completely entered the range."

For ordinary warships, about 12 miles is almost the maximum range of artillery. This distance is basically safe.

However, the sail battleship is equipped with a 32-pound cannon, which has a terrifying range of 18 miles and can be fired calmly.

The two sailing battleships aimed at Spain's flagship San Juan at the same time with a tacit understanding.

The Yan'an fired first. They used solid bullets. The fired shells successfully passed through the deck of the San Juan and directly penetrated.

Fortunately, this position was still on the upper part of the warship, which did not cause the intrusion of sea water.

Before the Spaniards had time to rejoice in their good luck, another Yulin's naval gun arrived as scheduled.

The shells they used caused a huge explosion on the deck!

Only the first round of bombardment severely damaged the enemy ship and greatly enhanced the confidence of the Chinese gunners.

In the second round of shelling, more shells hit the enemy ship due to the data reference of the first round.

Almost instantly, there was a huge explosion on the San Juan, which actually exploded in half and quickly sank into the sea.

With the flagship sunk, the rest of the battle lost its suspense.

Facing the enemy ships that had raised the white flag, the Chinese Navy did not show mercy and continued to fire and sink them one by one.

The Spanish sailors who fell into the water naturally became their targets.

As the blood of Spanish soldiers flowed into the sea, a large number of sharks were also attracted.

After dealing with the Spanish fleet, the forts on the shore of Manila were completely defenseless.

The 32-pound cannon on the sailing battleship directly smashed their fort into pieces.

A large number of Chinese soldiers landed near Manila.

Have the Spaniards ever seen such powerful artillery?

At this time, they all retreated to Fort Santiago, north of Manila.

But it is a pity that this strong bastion did not save the Spaniards, because he was still a little short of the coast.

The naval gun, which has a range of more than 18 miles, can fire a large number of 32-pound explosive shells into the city.

Then Chinese soldiers took advantage of the night to bombard the castle with heavy mortars.

Eventually the Spanish in the city had to surrender.

In the end, more than a thousand Spaniards, including Azquita, the Spanish Governor in the Philippines, became prisoners of the Chinese army.

Azquita personally participated in the massacre against the Chinese 29 years ago. At that time, he was just a young second lieutenant. Now he has become the governor of the Philippines!

Li Xianzhong had someone read out the Spaniard's crimes that year, and then publicly condemned Azquita!

All the Spaniards and local indigenous leaders were forced to attend the execution.

The execution lasted for three full days, although Azquita died on the second day.

But the executioner still executed him with 3888 knives.

Afterwards, all the Spaniards voluntarily handed over their property and signed confessions.

To avoid being tortured by this terrible punishment.

Li Xianzhong found the Chinese people who escaped from Manila early that year, as well as the descendants of those who were killed in the catastrophe.

They personally sent some Spaniards to the gallows.

Then Li Xianzhong asked the local indigenous people to erect hundreds of crosses on the farm outside Manila where they had massacred Chinese people.

They were crucified alive with nails.

This horrific scene scared all the Dutch in Manila to flee.

Li Xianzhong did not stop them from leaving. He wanted Westerners to know the consequences of offending China.

At this time, the leader of the Yabang indigenous people was trembling at Li Xianzhong's feet, for no other reason than because his tribe was the biggest accomplice of the Spaniards in the massacre of the Chinese people.

Under the protection of the Spanish, his tribe has become the largest tribe on Luzon Island, with more than 5 people.

Under the encirclement and suppression by tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and the high reward, no one in this tribe survived.

This also greatly shocked other tribes.

However, Li Xianzhong did not massacre them, as long as they worked in the Chinese farms and mines.

The Spaniards also enslaved them in this way, and these natives did not have much resistance.

Compared with the Yapang natives, the Chinese are quite kind to them.

Soon Zhu Chunchen and others bought a large number of estates around Manila, and also took shares in the largest gold mine around Manila.

Originally there were many Chinese doing business here, but now that the Chinese court is here, their backbone has become even harder.

With the help of these local Chinese people, the imperial court quickly took control of the situation in Manila.

After the money owners invested their money, they quickly recruited a large number of supervisors from China to manage their properties.

Li Xianzhong began to gradually immigrate from North Korea, Taiwan and some places in China where there are many people but little land.

And let Zheng Zhilong serve as the governor of Manila. Now they only control most of Luzon Island, but not a large number of islands in the central and southern Philippines.

Obviously, Manila is just a springboard. Eventually, he will completely take charge of the entire Southeast Asia.

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(End of this chapter)