I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 550: Those who return to the Ming Dynasty will live in peace in China forever
Li Chao continued to ask: "You went around Acapulco. What was the reaction of the Spanish people?"

Wu Guanhai chuckled: "He must be pissed off."

That's true. If the Spanish fleet were to circle around Songmen Bay right under his nose, he would be so furious.

"and then?"

"We ran out of the port of Acapulco, and the Spanish ships hoisted their sails and anchored and followed us, but we ran fast, moving for a while, stopping for a while, and taking turns to lead them north.

It's about six hours away, and the Qinglong Patrol No. 6 cruiser is leading them here."

"There are only four hours left. Pass the order down, all Qinglong navy troops will be dispatched, and the Marine Battalion will guard Taiping City."

"Yes!"

Luis de Santalla, commander of the Northwest Fleet of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and lord of Acapulco, stood on the stern of his flagship, the July Rose, and looked at the sea ahead with worry.

The King of Spain established two viceroyalties, the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru, to govern its vast colonies in the New World.

The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1521 with its capital in Mexico City. Its jurisdiction covered the area north of the Isthmus of Panama, including the Caribbean Islands and Venezuela.

The Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1544 with its capital in Lima. Its jurisdiction covered the vast area south of the Isthmus of Panama, except for Venezuela.

With the development and growth of the New World, two viceroyalties, New Granada and La Plata, were established in 1718 and 1776.

The core areas of the Viceroyalty of New Spain were southern Mexico, Central America north of Panama, and the Caribbean Islands.

After the establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the main route for the Spanish to explore the north was from Cuba, along the Mississippi River and the Florida Peninsula.

Because the Spanish believed in the legends of the Mexican Incas, there was a fountain of immortality in Florida, a diamond mountain in South Carolina, the Kingdom of Gran Quivira in Texas, and seven cities full of wealth in Arizona.

Of course, another goal is to spread God's glory throughout the New World and establish the heaven that God has given to devout Spaniards.

Gold, God, Glory (Gold, God, Glory), these are the driving forces behind the Spanish rushing around the New World.

The city of Acapulco, located in the northwest, is in a very awkward situation.

There were no gold or silver mines, no fertile land, and my grandmother and uncle didn't love me.

After the route to the Philippines was finally reopened and shiploads of valuable Ming silk, porcelain, tea, and spices were brought back, the city of Acapulco came into the sight of many people, especially the fourth governor of New Spain, Luis de Velasco.

De Velasco took office in the 1564rd year of the Jiajing reign (). He made a prompt decision to support the previously undecided issue of reopening the Philippine route, which led to the expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in the th year of the Jiajing reign, the occupation of the Sulu Islands, and the construction of Cebu City.

De Velasco's consideration is simple: to reduce inflation.

Spain's policy in the New World was to exploit its colonies to the utmost in order to support the extravagant lifestyle of the Spanish royal family and nobility and to meet the expenses of the kingdom.

The King of Spain at this time was Felipe II of the Habsburg dynasty.

He was trying to build a huge Catholic empire.

Philip II first helped his wife, Queen Mary I of England, to turn England back into a Catholic country, but failed due to the death of Mary I.

He then fought the French, finally securing a peace in 1559 that was favorable to Spain.

Philip II then moved the court to Madrid, made it the permanent capital of Spain, and began to expand it.

In 1565, the Ottoman navy besieged Malta and began to infiltrate Cyprus.

In order to defend the Christian world whose security was under great threat, Philip II asked the Pope to form an alliance with Venice. He was working hard to expand the navy and prepare for a decisive battle with the Ottoman Empire's naval force in the Mediterranean.

It all comes down to one thing: money!
Lots of money.

Mexico and Chile produced the most gold and silver, which just met the needs of Philip II. However, the gold and silver brought back by Spanish galleons caused inflation.

Why does this happen?

Because Europe's productivity was low at that time, the goods produced would not increase with the increase of gold and silver currencies.

The influx of gold and silver drove up prices in Europe. Philip II and the Spanish nobles were surprised to find that although they had more gold and silver, they could not buy much more.

How to do?
Although no one understood what inflation was at that time, as a very experienced administrative official, de Velasco felt that new trade routes should be opened at this time. Large quantities of goods could be bought back with gold and silver from Mexico and Chile and then put into the Spanish market, which should be able to reduce prices.

In 1566 and 1567, the cargo of sailing ships brought back from Cebu Island along the closed-loop route of the Pacific Ocean were all Venice's "specialties" such as silk, porcelain, tea, sugar, and glassware from the Ming Dynasty.

After being transported back to Acapulco, it was shipped overland to the port of Veracruz at the eastern end of the southern peninsula of Mexico, loaded onto a ship again and shipped back to Spain, which greatly suppressed prices in Spain.

Felipe II was very pleased and praised de Velasco, granting him the title of Marquis.

De Velasco was greatly encouraged and instructed Santalia, who succeeded Legazpi as the lord of Acapulco, to expand the trading volume on the Philippine route. He also coordinated and transferred more than a dozen sailboats from the Caribbean and the Governorate of Chile to Acapulco.

However, after 1568, these sailing ships bound for the Philippines became like a waste of effort, never to return.

In 1569, the fleet still did not return, so Santaria sent another fleet to the Philippines, but still no news.

Santalia comforted herself that anything could happen on a sea voyage of thousands of miles. If there was a slight delay, the wind and tide period would be over and she would have to wait another year.

Besides, the fleet will need to purchase goods when it arrives in the Philippines.

Spain is the "world's number one power" and its demand is also world-class. It must have bought out all of Ming's production, and Legazpi needs time to gather the goods.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't imagine that Legazpi was already dead. The three Spanish fleets were completely wiped out by the Ming navy and would never return.

The fleet was late in returning, and De Velasco in Mexico City sent people to urge them every few days.

There was no way. Felipe II of Madrid, who had tasted the sweetness, urged de Velasco, and de Velasco could only urge Santalia.

Santalia was so anxious that she felt overwhelmed. There was no radio in those days, and no one knew what was happening in the Philippines thousands of miles away!

Legazpi and others who had seen God did not know how to send a dream. Santalia waited at the port every day, counting on his fingers.

The fleet usually departed from the Philippines in June of the Julian calendar and sailed for six months to reach Acapulco, which was mid-to-late February of the Julian calendar, roughly equivalent to late March and early April of the Ming Dynasty's unified calendar.

That is the period of time.

This year the fleet's return date has arrived, and Santalia is looking forward to seeing the fleet's sails appear on the horizon.

However, no one expected that two sailboats of unknown nationality would suddenly appear off the coast of Acapulco, damage the patrolling warship, break into the Acapulco port area, and then flee northward.

Santalia asked the wounded warship captain, who said the two sailing ships appeared from the north.

I suddenly felt something was wrong.

North?

The Philippine fleet is also returning from the north. Now two sailboats of unknown nationality suddenly appear. Is the fleet in danger?

Santalia immediately gathered all the ships and headed north. They chased each other against the headwind all the way and arrived at Songmen Bay after ten days.

Seeing the ship enter the Songmen Strait, Santalia hesitated, wondering if there was a trick.

But the honor of the Spanish Navy quickly dispelled his doubts.

We are the world's number one Spanish navy. Who dares to put a big tripod on the tiger's head?
Chase!
Santalia gave the order, and eleven Spanish warships sailed into the Songmen Strait one after another.

Li Chao had already given orders that Taiping City be camouflaged, including covering the artillery positions guarding the strait with tree branches and leaves to conceal it from the eyes of Santalia and others.

After entering the bay, Santalia received a report from the vanguard ship that the enemy ship had lost its trace. He looked around and found that there were many islands and the hydrology was complicated, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

This is a pocket. If the enemy rushes out from somewhere behind, our entire fleet will be destroyed here.

Before Santalia could react, she saw a "huge" fleet rushing out from behind.

This fleet has as many as twelve battleships, each of which is much larger than its own battleship.

The enemy's main battleships were tigers and lions, and the auxiliary ships next to them were packs of wolves. Santalia felt that her fleet was like a group of sheep.

Santalia quickly asked someone to wave the flag and inquire about the nationality of the other fleet, and whether there was any misunderstanding.
"General, the Western barbarian ship on the opposite side is waving flags, and it looks like it has something to ask us." The adjutant reported.

Li Chao asked with his eyes squinting, "Do you understand the hand flag signal of the Western Yi ship?"

The adjutant shook his head, "I don't understand. Commander in chief, in our navy, only Old Wu can understand it."

Li Chao curled his lips, "Unfortunately, Lao Wu is in Taiping City. There is nothing we can do about it. Order all ships to engage in battle with wolf pack tactics!"

"Follow the order!"

The wolf pack tactics are similar to the cavalry assault tactics used by Yu Dayou, but there are some differences.

The wolf pack tactic is two battleships, or one battleship and one frigate, cooperating with each other to fight two against one.

One ship is attacking from the front and the other from the side, and they attack crosswise. There is no distinction between who is the main attacker and who is the secondary attacker. Whoever seizes the upper hand and advantageous position will be the main attacker.

Santalia did not wait for the other side's reply, but only saw the other side's fleet divided into several formations, occupying the upper hand, and rushing over fiercely.

These warships of unknown nationality were extremely ferocious. They would often rush to within thirty or forty meters of their own ships and then open fire fiercely.

Although their own warships were not willing to be outdone and opened fire in response, Santalia clearly discovered that the enemy's artillery was not only numerous but also extremely ferocious.

Often, a round of close-range salvos is enough to damage one's own ship.

If the steering gear is damaged or the mast is broken, the ship will lose power and be doomed.

Unfortunately, the hull of the enemy warship was very strong, and the damage caused by our artillery fire was very minor, failing to cause effective damage to the enemy.

There was a rumbling sound of cannons on the sea surface of Songmen Bay, as if all the thunder of the past ten years had exploded on this day.

On the shore, many local natives heard the noise and watched. They saw the sea filled with smoke and monster-like sailing ships constantly moving through the smoke.

The towering mast and huge hull gave off a very oppressive feeling. However, such a monster was shattered into pieces by the fire-breathing weapon.

The eleven Spanish warships led by Santalia were surrounded in Songmen Bay by the Qinglong Navy of the Ming Dynasty. They were interspersed and divided, and used their superior forces to defeat the enemy with greater numbers, forming a powerful firepower advantage and carrying out frantic close artillery bombardment.

More than three hours passed, and one Spanish warship after another caught fire, tilted, sank, was captured, and surrendered.

When the setting sun slanted in from the west, illuminating the entire Songmen Bay with a fiery red color, thousands of native Indians watching on the shore heard thunderous cheers coming from the sea.

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

The scene of this naval battle and the cheers that resounded through the sky were deeply engraved in the minds of these natives. They were passed on by word of mouth and quickly spread throughout the west coast of Xiazhou.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Li Chao led twelve battleships, four cruisers, and two thousand marines on board and marched south.

Six days later, the Qinglong Navy bombarded Acapulco and covered the landing of 2,000 Marines, who occupied the city. Two days later, Li Chao released the four Spanish officers and headed straight for Mexico City with a letter written by Urdaneta.

A few days later, the letter was delivered to Velasco at the Viceroyalty in Mexico City.

This is a letter written in both Chinese and Spanish.

"According to the imperial edict of the Great Ming Emperor, Li, the commander-in-chief of the Qinglong Navy of the Great Ming Navy, led his troops to Genzhou in the east and informed the soldiers and civilians here. The vast land should be inhabited by people with virtue. Genzhou has been without a ruler for a long time, and the holy emperor feels guilty.

Today, the Ming Dynasty has accepted the mandate of heaven and dares not rest on its laurels. The Chinese people are vigorous and a saint is born to rule the world and bring peace to the people. He sends troops to sail thousands of miles to eliminate riots, stabilize the four directions, save the people from suffering, and make all the people get what they deserve.

Therefore, those who submit to the Great Ming will live in peace in China forever, and those who betray the Great Ming will be cut off from the world."

(End of this chapter)