Chapter 495 492 [Take Advantage of His Illness and Kill Him]
"Greetings to Your Majesty!" Zheng Zhilong bowed his hands.
"Give me a seat." Zhao Han smiled kindly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
When Zheng Zhilong sat down, Zhao Han asked straight to the point: "How many warships does Spain have in Luzon?"
Zheng Zhilong replied: "At most, there were six large sailing ships and more than ten ordinary warships. In the past few years, the Netherlands has been intercepting and attacking Spanish ships, and both sides have suffered some losses. News has come out in the past few months , Spain seems to have suffered a defeat in the far east. Four large sailing ships are stuck in America and cannot return, and they seem to be preparing to fight another war in America. As for ordinary warships, there are less than ten left."
"What kind of ship is the galleon?" Zhao Han asked.
Zheng Zhilong said with emotion: "Giant ships with more than a thousand materials are all made of century-old hardwood. Our navy surrounds one of theirs with ten ships and bombards it with artillery for several hours, but it is estimated that it will not be able to sink it."
The Spanish Manila Galleon was engaged in trade across the Pacific all year round, so its hull was extremely strong.
The smallest of this kind of large sailing ship has a displacement of 500 tons, and the largest can reach a displacement of 1,200 tons.
Zhao Han asked again: "How about the northern part of Luzon Island?"
Zheng Zhilong replied: "They are all indigenous savages."
The governor of the Netherlands really had a good plan. China and the Netherlands jointly attacked Spain. China only gained a barren land, but the Netherlands was able to seize prosperous ports and occupy the entire Pacific waterway.
Zhao Han asked again: "How many troops are needed to capture Manila?"
Zheng Zhilong thought carefully: "We need to use all the navy and send 3,000 troops. Manila cannot be attacked forcefully. We can only besiege the city with heavy troops until the food in the city is cut off. Therefore, we must prepare a large amount of food and grass, at least for half a year's travel."
"How sure are you?" Zhao Han asked.
Zheng Zhilong said: "If there are three thousand powerful troops, even if they cannot sink the Spanish galleons, they can surprise the troops and land north of Manila. By then, the food supply inside and outside the city will be cut off, and no matter how powerful the galleons are, they can only watch blindly. . The Red Fan Ghosts have few soldiers. Even if they recruit civilians as soldiers, they can only have two or three thousand at most. If they fight on land, as long as they don't attack the city, they can't win. There is no guarantee of defeating the Spanish warships. . Landing to seize Manila, as long as three months of food and grass are guaranteed, I am very sure of victory."
"Then let's fight. Let's fight together with Holland," Zhao Han said. "You will be the coach. We will capture Manila and make you the Duke of Nanhai!"
Create a duke?
Zheng Zhilong's eyes were bright, he knelt down and said: "I will not give up even if I die!"
...
Maritime merchants from many ports such as Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, etc. were all summoned by the chief envoy to discuss the matter in their cities.
Zhao Han doesn't have enough money and food to fight naval battles, so he will use merchants to do things!
Use commercial taxes from major ports in the Philippines as collateral to issue war bonds to Chinese maritime merchants. In addition, firms that purchase war bonds can enjoy tax reductions at Philippine ports for a certain percentage of their goods each year. This tax reduction benefit can be transferred to others.
As for how many goods are tax-free, it depends on how many bonds you buy, and the conversion will be done according to the bond purchase ratio.
Fuzhou.
Hundreds of Fujian maritime business representatives spontaneously organized a meeting.
Lin Fusheng was the first to speak: "Gentlemen, most of the Han people doing business in Luzon are from Fujian. This time the Red Bo ghosts killed innocent people indiscriminately, and everyone suffered heavy losses. Some tribesmen were killed and merchant ships were robbed. Now I don’t dare to go to Luzon to run a ship, and I can’t mess with business elsewhere. Many ships are idle at the dock. Now your Majesty wants to seek justice for the dead Han people, and also wants to restore business for us Fujian merchants. I am Lin Fusheng, I am willing to buy 2,000 shi of grain bonds!"
Buying 2,000 shi of grain bonds means transporting 2,000 shi of grain to the battlefield in the Philippines, and Zhao Han will pay them back with interest five years later.
The shipping costs and risks are borne by the maritime merchant!
At first glance, it looks like a loss-making deal, and the maritime merchants are definitely not willing to do so. But what they value more is the Philippine market and the annual Philippine port tax exemption.
Even if there is no tax reduction, if Zhao Han can win Manila, Fujian maritime merchants will wake up laughing from their sleep.
Because when doing business in the Philippines, only Chinese ships have the heaviest tariffs, which are even twice as high as those of merchant ships from other countries! In and outside Manila, the Chinese are also subject to the heaviest taxes, and each Chinese is subject to an additional head tax.
Fujian maritime merchants were hesitant. They were afraid of the risks of transporting grain and that they would not be able to capture the Philippines.
Finally, someone gritted his teeth and said, "Give it a go, my Li family subscribes for a 500-ton bond! If we keep waiting like this, we don't know when we will be able to recover. If we don't capture Manila, who will dare to do business in Luzon in the future?"
Of course I dare, businessmen pursue profit.
Historically, after Spain massacred China, only one year passed before Fujian maritime merchants went back to do business. It's just that I don't dare to settle in the Philippines, I don't dare to open a business in Manila, transport goods to the port for trading, and leave immediately after repairs and supplies.
Isn’t that mean?
Because the maritime merchants had no choice, the Ming Dynasty was almost over. The war was devastated, and the domestic market environment was very poor. They had to transport their goods out for sale. How many waiters are waiting to eat, how many handicraftsmen depend on it for survival, and all they can do is smile if they are massacred.
Now, Datong Emperor Zhao Han wants to stand up for them, and Fujian maritime merchants suddenly burst into enthusiasm.
In just one month, Fujian Haishang subscribed for 60,000 shi of bonds. In other words, they had to spend their own money to buy grain, and they also had to send out their own people and ships to transport 3,600 tons of grain to the Philippine battlefield.
As for maritime merchants from other provinces, they have little interest in this, and they have no market share in the Philippines.
...
Zhao Han made an appointment with Holland to dispatch troops immediately after the beginning of spring.
Governor Anthony Van Diemen could not wait any longer, and sent out his fleet in winter to attack any Spanish ship in sight.
Even if Zhao Han doesn't make a move, Holland will make a move himself, but the timeline has changed.
Historically, the Philippine Tuhua happened earlier. At that time, the Netherlands was at war with Portugal, and it was really hard to spare to make trouble with Spain. When Chongzhen hanged himself in the second year, the Netherlands began to aggressively attack the Philippines.
The Netherlands sent 18 warships and 800 soldiers to attack in three ways.
Going all the way to the northern Philippines, inciting the indigenous rebellion against Spain, and at the same time intercepting Chinese merchant ships from Fujian (cutting off Spanish supplies). The second route went further east to intercept the galleons from Mexico, when the Spanish Pacific shipping lanes had been restored. The third route cuts off Luzon and Borneo, preventing supplies from Borneo from being transported to Manila.
After the three parties completed the preliminary plan, they gathered together to launch a general attack on Manila.
Eighteen Dutch warships and 800 Dutch soldiers besieged two old Spanish galleons in the port of Manila. The two sides bombarded each other for five hours, and the bow of the Dutch flagship was shattered. The Dutch suffered heavy losses, while the Spanish survived a ship and a man.
Later, two more galleons came back from Mexico. The Netherlands dared not fight any more naval battles, and eight hundred soldiers began to land and fight.
The siege lasted for two months, and 30 Spanish soldiers fought with a large number of servants.
We don't know how many native servants died, but none of the Spanish soldiers died, and more than a hundred Dutch soldiers died. Then there was another month of confrontation, the naval battle broke out again, and the Dutch fleet fled in embarrassment.
Batavia.
Commander Peter, who came back from Cambodia, yelled in front of Governor Fan Dimen: "Your Excellency, we should send troops to attack Jimmy (Cambodia), otherwise the East India Company will lose face in the Far East!"
"Spain is the real enemy, that disobedient King Jimmy, we will deal with him when we have time," Van Diemen said.
Teddy Holland at sea, not long ago went to provoke Cambodia, and was captured by Cambodia with two warships...
To be precise, they were two armed merchant ships.
They set off with more than a hundred Dutch soldiers and demanded that the Cambodian king return the bribe, because the Cambodian officials took the money and did nothing. Not to mention the disastrous defeat of the army, two Dutch armed merchant ships actually sailed into the inland river to show off their power, but the Cambodian army blocked the river with obstacles, and then grinded to death with a large number of inland river boats.
By the way, the Netherlands is still at war with Banten.
Moreover, the country of Matalan on Java Island also has a fierce conflict with the Netherlands, and is thinking about attacking the Netherlands together.
But it doesn't matter, the Dutch East India Company is used to fighting on all sides.
Twenty-six years ago, the Netherlands had just occupied Batavia, and within a year it was besieged by the British, Jakarta, and Banten in turn. The enemies of the Netherlands are also funny. The Netherlands has asked for surrender every time, but they failed to agree on the conditions of surrender, and then they retreated due to insufficient food.
"Your Excellency, a letter from the Emperor of China." The adjutant hurried in.
Fan Dimen frowned after reading the letter.
Because the letter from the Chinese emperor only said that in April of the Western calendar, the northern part of Luzon Island would be handed over to the Chinese navy, and Chinese soldiers would instigate indigenous rebellions along the way.
How to share the results of the battle, the Chinese emperor has never said.
If you don't make this clear, who will belong to Manila?
Knowing that the Chinese emperor was dissatisfied, Fan Diemen wrote a new letter and sent it out, willing to hand over the Turtle Shell City and the north to China.
Tortoiseshell City is the capital of a native country in Luzon. It was destroyed more than a hundred years ago, and there are especially many Chinese and indigenous people. The local Chinese were massacred twice.
Van Diemen believes that he has given enough sincerity. The geographical location of Hawksbill City is second only to Manila in Luzon Island.
The Netherlands wants Manila, and China wants the Tortoiseshell City. The two sides are fair cooperation.
Zhao Han didn't even bother to reply to the letter, let's talk about it after typing!
In order to send troops to the Philippines, Zhao Han specially formed the "Luzon Expeditionary Army". Farmers and soldiers were recruited in Fujian and Guangdong, and musket training was conducted in winter, plus a total of 3,500 medical soldiers.
In Li Banghua's view, it is really unwise to send troops this time.
However, Zhao Han didn't want to let go of the opportunity.
To avenge the tragic death of the Chinese and to demonstrate China's national prestige is just one of the reasons. What's more, the Spaniards committed a massacre and offended all the Chinese businessmen, and now they are sending troops with one mind.
If we wait a few more years, Chinese maritime merchants will go to do business with Spain again, regardless of eating or selling. When the time comes to send troops, many maritime merchants will still be dissatisfied, thinking that the emperor Zhao Han is delaying their business.
In history, Zheng Chenggong's general Lin Feng led an expedition to the Philippines. It was a Chinese maritime merchant who leaked information about Lin Feng's army and also helped the Spaniards with ideas.
At this time, Manila was in chaos, and the treasure-carrying galleon was blocked in the Americas. There were no Han Chinese standing on the Spanish side. It was the time when the Spanish colonists were at their weakest!
The governor of the Netherlands, Van Diemen, could see it clearly, and Zhao Han certainly knew it very well. They both wanted to join forces to kill Spain.