I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 298: The Spaniards who envision the future

Cebu City on Sulu Island, this was the first castle built by the Spanish in the South China Sea region.

On the north tower of the castle stood two Spaniards. One of them was dressed in aristocratic clothes. He was Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spanish leader and self-proclaimed governor of Filipino.

The other one was dressed in priest's clothes. He was his assistant, missionary Urdaneta.

Legazpi was born in mainland Spain and went to Mexico in 1545, where he worked as a clerk in the local administrative agency.

In 1564, Legazpi was sent by the Governor of New Spain, Luis de Velasco, to the place where Magellan died and to colonize the Philippine Island named after the then King of Spain, Philip II.

In November, Legazpi led five ships from Acapulco on the coast of Mexico, crossed the Pacific Ocean, and arrived at an island in the southern Philippine Islands in April 11.

When asked the locals what the place was called, they said Sulu-Cebu, and so Cebu City was established.

Urdaneta is not only Legazpi's right-hand man, but also an old wizard with rich sailing experience.

In June 1565, Urdaneta commanded the "San Pablo" galleon loaded with silk and spices, departed from Cebu City, passed through Manila Bay, and headed for Acapulco, Mexico.

The large sailing ship sailed northward with the southwest monsoon, reached the waters between 42° and 45° north latitude, sailed eastward along the "Kuroshio" in the North Pacific, and arrived in Acapulco. The entire journey was more than 6 nautical miles and took about months.

In addition, the route from Acapulco to Philippine is a direct sailing along the ocean current, which takes 3 months.

One round trip per year, a perfect closed loop.

Urdaneta pointed to the north and said excitedly: "Dear Legazpi, we should expand to the north! There is Manila, there is an excellent seaport, and a large land with rich resources. Although the natives there have a local king, they are vulnerable!
We went to occupy it and built a port in Manila as the capital of the Spanish Philippine colony.

Legazpi, this is what we should do, not to form an alliance with the Annan people or to provoke the Ming people!"

Legazpi pushed his hands forward and said repeatedly: "Calm down, my friend, my best friend, Urdaneta, please calm down. Please listen to me."

"Well, you are the captain appointed by Governor de Velasco, the governor of Firubin, and I am just your assistant. You speak and I listen."

"Cebu is a small place with a bad location, so we have to develop outwards, either to the north or to the south," Legazpi said.

To the south, there are the Spice Islands, where the spices produced are as valuable as gold. But that is the Portuguese territory, and if we go south and have a dispute with them, it will violate the Treaty of Sarago.

Dear Urdaneta, that was an agreement signed by His Holiness the Pope himself. You don’t want to embarrass him, do you? "

Urdaneta scolded with a cold face: "Shut up, Legazpi, you know I am a missionary, the most loyal servant of His Holiness the Pope!"

"Well," Legazpi shrugged, "now we can only expand northwards, where there's silk, tea, porcelain, and the sea route back north to Acapulco."

"You know all this, so why don't you focus on Manila? Why do you have to go after the Ming? I've heard from many captains and sailors that it's a huge country with tens of thousands of miles of territory, tens of millions of people, and abundant resources!"

Legazpi's eyes flashed with greed: "Yes, it is a huge country with vast territory, tens of millions of people, countless silk, tea and porcelain, which are as valuable as silver and gold when shipped back to New Spain and Spain.

Oh, God, Urdaneta, my friend, this is God's will, a gift to us!"

"What do you mean? Legazpi!"

Legazpi replied eagerly: "This is another Inca Empire, an Inca Empire covered with gold, and we will become the second Francisco Pizarro, the favorite of God!"

Urdaneta looked at Legazpi in disbelief. “My friend, what makes you think that the Ming Empire in the north is the second Inca Empire? As long as we push it lightly, it will fall down?

Legaspis, haven't you read The Travels of Marco Polo? Don't you know how powerful the Mongols were? Haven't you heard that the Chinese defeated the Mongols to establish their country? Oh my God, if they defeated the Mongols, they could defeat the armies of Satan. Their fighting power is like the Legion of God's Burning Angels?"

"Urdaneta, my friend!" Legazpi gestured with his hands. "It is undeniable that Ming was also a powerful empire, but that was in the past. Now it is rotten, like a hollow pillar that will fall down with a push.

Haven't you heard that a few dozen Japanese pirates were able to wreak havoc in the southeastern region of the Ming Dynasty, burning, killing and looting for more than 20 years?

The Japanese pirates, the monkeys on the island to the north! Urdaneta, you passed by there when you led your team back to Acapulco, you know their strength. Such a group of monkeys could actually beat the Ming Empire without any resistance.

Think about it, think carefully, what is the difference between the current Ming Dynasty and the Inca Empire?"

Urdaneta remained silent, folding his arms across his chest, his right hand touching his chin.

"I have heard about this incident from several captains. It is incredible. Such a huge country like Ming was beaten by dozens of monkeys and dared not go out to sea. It is unbelievable!"

Legazpi continued, “My friend, the Ming Dynasty has the silk, tea, and porcelain we desperately need, and the land is flowing with gold and silver.

We conquered that land, far better than conquering the Inca Empire and New Spain! We will have endless wealth, supreme power, and we can even become the distinguished guests of His Holiness the Pope, just like the Spanish royal family.

Think about this, Urdaneta, as long as we conquer the incomparably rich Golden Kingdom of the East, what does Philippine matter? What does Manila matter!

Urdaneta's heart was moved, and there was greed in his eyes. He imagined the good days of wealth and glory after conquering the Ming Dynasty.

He thought deeper than Legazpi.

If he conquered that vast land, he could use the muskets and cannons in his hands to spread the gospel of God to every corner of the country.

Millions of people have become Lambs of God!
Oh my God, not only will I become the most powerful cardinal in the Christian world, but I will also be canonized by the Holy See!

Urdaneta was so excited that she could not help but make the sign of the cross on her chest.

After the excitement subsided, he began to plan: "Legazpi, I understand what you mean. We are going north to conquer the Ming Kingdom, and we need a guide who is familiar with the situation. Annan Mo is our guide?"

"Yes! Under their leadership, we attacked four Ming merchant ships. Although the Ming ships were much stronger than those of the Inca Empire, they were still far inferior to our Spanish Armada.

And Annan Mo told me that those ships were the most elite navy of the Ming Dynasty. God, I have more confidence. "

"Legaspi, we now have 22 warships, 8,700 of the bravest soldiers, equipped with the most advanced weapons in the world. At the beginning, we only need to conquer a piece of land along the coast of Ming, build a city there, accumulate strength, and then slowly expand to the surrounding areas.

I believe that within ten years, Legazpi, you will be the governor of the richest colony in Spain, and I will be the most prestigious cardinal in Christendom."

"That's right!"

Legazpi and Urdaneta stood side by side on the city wall, gazing at the sea and sky in the north, and imagined the future with joy and hope.

In the West Garden of the capital, Zhu Yijun was also looking towards the north. After a long while, he turned around and asked, "Where is Qi Yuanjing now?"

Qi Yan replied: "Your Highness, the Supervisory Office has received the latest urgent report that Earl Fengning has led his troops to Xinghua City."

"Xinghua City!"

Zhu Yijun was muttering to himself when he suddenly felt something in his heart. He subconsciously turned around and looked to the south.

There are Tatars in the north and Western barbarians in the south!
(End of this chapter)