Tortoiseshell City.

A merchant from the Ming Dynasty prostrated and kowtowed: "Please, Madam, send troops to conquer Malilu. The two thousand Han people in Malilu will be waiting for you!"

Song Ling'er smiled and asked: "Why do you ask me to send troops?"

The merchant of the Ming Dynasty replied: "The ruler of Luzon is greedy, and business taxes are getting heavier and heavier every day. He regards us Han people as aliens, and strictly guards against them and exploits them. Among the merchants of various countries, the Han people are the lowest, and the Han people in Luzon all feel that they are in danger.

.”

"I already know, and I will wait for the time." Song Ling'er said ambiguously.

Why are Chinese businessmen the most suppressed in Luzon?

Because Xu Chai Lao!

Xu Chailao was a native of Jinjiang, Fujian Province, and had become a wealthy man in Luzon in the early Ming Dynasty. Zheng He went to the West and appointed Xu Chailao as the governor of Luzon, taking charge of the military and political power of Luzon for twenty years!

Not only that, Zheng He also appointed Feng Jia Shilan as governor of the Tortoiseshell City conquered by Song Ling'er.

In Sumatra, Zheng He appointed a Borneo governor. The Borneo governor remained there until the end of the Ming Dynasty, and his descendants directly became Borneo kings.

Zheng He's voyages to the West were by no means as simple as doing business. They were almost crushed and defeated along the way.

Otherwise, how could the King of Luzon agree to establish the Governor of Luzon and take charge of domestic military and political power for twenty years?

It is a pity that except for the Governor of Borneo who successfully usurped power, the Governor of Luzon and Governor Feng Jiashilan no longer exist. This change is due to Zheng He no longer sailing to the Western Ocean. Without the military intervention of the Ming fleet, the local indigenous people will of course take back their power, and

Often accompanied by bloody massacres.

Since then, the King of Luzon has been afraid of the Han people, fearing that the royal power will be taken away again, so he has been deliberately suppressing Chinese businessmen.

Song Ling'er called Wang Yuan over: "Cer, you lead a fleet and a thousand elite soldiers to defeat Malilu."

"Yes!" Wang Ce accepted the order with his fists clasped.

Marilu, later known as Bolinao in the Philippines, was a small independent country during the Song Dynasty, and Chinese people came here to do business during the Tang Dynasty.

This port is right next to Tortoiseshell City, and the distance is only two to three hundred miles. If we choose to temporarily cease fire with Luzon, then Malilu will be the military barrier of Tortoiseshell City. This port must be knocked down to completely control Linga.

Yanwan.

Wang Ce immediately led an armed merchant ship and landed at Malilu Port with a thousand gunmen.

Without wasting any effort, the port without city walls was captured, and the two thousand Han people in the city greeted them with their baskets and pots of food.

Before I had time to rest, several merchant ships suddenly arrived from the south.

The merchants shouted and knelt in front of Wang Ce: "Sir, please send troops to Manila quickly, otherwise it will be too late!"

Wang Ce asked: "What happened?"

A merchant cried in mourning: "When he learned that the young master and his wife had occupied Tortoiseshell City, the Lord of Luzon ordered the massacre of all Han people. The Han people in Manila have already flowed with blood!"

"This is unreasonable!" Wang Ce was furious.

Wang Ce personally led twelve armed merchant ships south, sent another one back to Hawksbill City to report the news, and brought the remaining armed merchant ships with him.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the real territory of the Luzon Kingdom was actually only near Manila. At that time, Buddhism and Hinduism were believed in, and the Governor of Luzon also brought Mazu belief and Confucian culture. During the twenty years when Xu Chailao ruled Luzon, Luzon

The degree of Chineseization is very high, and the national power and territory are also growing rapidly.

After Zheng He stopped sailing to the West, the King of Luzon took advantage of Xu Chailao's return to his hometown to retire, regained military and political power in one fell swoop, and brutally suppressed the Han forces. Then he converted to the Green religion. Now the whole of Manila is full of Green believers. Through the Green religion

to strengthen control over the country.

Wang Ce ignored the ports along the way and arrived at Manila Bay two days later, meeting the Luzon fleet in the North Strait.

Wang Ce said directly: "Brother Zhifeng, I don't understand naval warfare, so I'll let you take command."

"The warships of Luzon are all native chickens with tiles and dog ears!" Wang Zuo said with a smile.

Wang Sui was born in the Wang family branch of the eight major clans in Huizhou, and he and Wang Yuan's partner Huang Chongde were fellow villagers in She County. This guy's family was relatively wealthy. He didn't like reading books about sages when he was a child. He started doing business with his father when he was more than ten years old, and later sold private salt.

I almost got caught and folded all my money into it.

Seven years ago, Wang Zuo and his friend Xu Weixue from the same hometown joined Wang Yuan's fleet as sailors.

These two people, one is brave in combat and the other is good at using tactics, have become the middle-level leaders of Wang Yuan's fleet. They jointly command twelve armed merchant ships. Each of them can take half of the shares of these merchant ships, and they always like to do maritime trade at the same time.

Play armed robbery.

Wang Ce stood nearby and learned from Wang Zhen's command of naval battles.

Wang Zhen was not interested in any favoritism, and explained the battle situation with a telescope: "Sir, even though there are many warships in Luzon, it's scary to see one or two hundred of them coming over. But these are offshore galleys, and the number of cannons is pitifully small.

Just go far away and fire, don't get jumped at close range and you'll be sure of victory."

Twelve armed merchant ships faced off against more than a hundred galleys.

Wang Sui ordered: "Seize the opportunity to fire!"

When the flag order was issued, the twelve ships immediately changed direction, distanced themselves, and pointed their guns at the enemy ships.

More than two hundred warships from the Luzon Kingdom, using straight sails and oars, approached at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Boom boom boom boom!"

Dozens of artillery fired over them, sinking two Luzon sailing ships in an instant. The hulls of the opposite ships were narrow and brittle, and there was no sealed cabin technology. As long as the cabins received a few shots, they would be sunk once water entered.

Suddenly, eight more armed merchant ships came from the south, helping Wang Sui attack the enemy from a flank.

Wang Ce asked: "Whose ship is over there?"

Wang Sui used a telescope to look at it, and immediately smiled and said: "The Xu family in Quanzhou is the largest maritime merchant on the Luzon route. The Xu family also has many armed merchant ships."

The Xu family's warship suddenly joined the battlefield, catching the Luzon fleet off guard and sending half of it to fight.

Not long after the fight, nine more armed merchant ships arrived.

Wang Zuo laughed loudly: "The Lin family and the Chen family are also here. The leader of Luzon has made people angry this time."

Since Wang Yuan opened the sea and relaxed the control on firearms, maritime merchants could privately manufacture firearms and go to sea as long as they were not brought ashore. As a result, a large number of maritime merchants had private armed forces, including of course merchants running the Luzon route.

The fleet of Wang, Xu, Lin, and Chen families totaled twenty-nine warships, which instantly overwhelmed more than a hundred Luzon warships and could not support them.

Wang Sui said to the flag commander: "Go back and fire all guns at the enemy's flagship. We have friendly forces holding the battle now, so don't be afraid of being picked up."

Twelve merchant ships turned around and swept northeastward, taking the initiative to approach the Luzon fleet.

The Luzon fleet is also equipped with artillery, but the number is pitiful. Shooting them out sporadically is like scratching an itch, and the scratching is not very accurate.

"Boom boom boom!"

After getting close enough, they all fired at the Luzon flagship. A total of three shells accurately hit the target. Although it did not sink immediately, it broke the mast of the enemy's flagship.

The twelve armed merchant ships of the Wang family were also successfully approached by the Luzon warship.

Don't be afraid, the side of the ship is very high, and the musketeers are waiting in line to shoot at the enemy sailors from above.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The sound of volleys of gunfire continued, and the Luzon sailors who wanted to join the gang were beaten until they lay on the deck and did not dare to stand up.

The warships of three other maritime merchants also surrounded them and bombarded the Luzon fleet from the south and west sides.

The commander of the Luzon flagship probably panicked. With the mast broken, he ordered the oarsmen to row back to Manila Bay. As soon as the flagship withdrew, the beaten Luzon warships retreated one after another. The Ming armed merchant ships chased and used their bows to

Artillery fire.

The Royal fleet blocked the North Channel, and the other three fleets blocked the South Channel. The entire Luzon fleet was blocked in Manila Bay.

There is no strategy to speak of next, just firing like crazy.

The morale of the Luzon fleet was very low. The commander was the first to land and escape, and the rest of the warships also docked and abandoned ship.

Wang Zuo ordered: "Stop firing. These galleys can be used for short-distance offshore travel. If they are sunk, it will be our loss." He turned to Wang Ce and said, "Sir, do you want me to bring someone ashore to help?

"

Wang Ce shook his head: "No need."

Wang Ce came ashore with a thousand musketry soldiers, and sailors from the Xu, Lin, and Chen families also sent sailors ashore to follow.

Manila also has no city walls!

Before Wang Ce got off the boat, he heard gunshots in the city, which seemed to be a fierce battle.

"Front team, bayonets on!"

Thousands of royal musketeers, followed by thousands of armed sailors, stormed into the city of Manila with great momentum.

After entering the city, Wang Ce inquired and found out that there was fighting in the north of the city.

But it was the King of Luzon who ordered the massacre of the Han people, and some merchants' armed forces hurriedly fought and were defeated. Those who survived protected the Han civilians and gathered in the north of the city near the river to resist.

More than 10,000 Luzon troops besieged hundreds of armed merchants and fought for several days but failed to defeat them.

In order to prevent fire attacks, the merchants' armed forces even demolished the surrounding houses. Some Luzon soldiers also had muskets, but they would retreat automatically when they encountered casualties without fighting. Perhaps they felt that there was no need to sacrifice their lives for hundreds of Han people to resist.

, if the siege lasts for a few more days, even if the ammunition is not used up, they will still starve to death there.

Wang Ce's face became darker and darker. After he entered the city, he could see traces of beating, smashing, looting and burning everywhere. Although the bodies of the Han people had been dragged away long ago, the blood stains on the ground were not washed away.

Hearing that Han reinforcements were coming, thousands of Luzon soldiers were divided and hurriedly met the enemy.
To be continued...