Nan Ming Sun Never Sets

Chapter 310 Manila Port Closure

The Italian captain was so surprised that his jaw almost fell to the ground. Although there were only 10 marines on board his ship, he didn't dare to do anything to them. These two merchant ships were surrounded by seven powerful warships of the Ming Dynasty. , as long as there is a change, what awaits them must be the artillery shells of the Ming Navy.

He once knew a Cuban captain who was full of the so-called romantic spirit. A year ago in the waters near Fujian, this Cuban captain refused to stop the ship in the face of a Ming Navy frigate. As a result, he was bombarded. Nearly sunk, the Cuban captain was stabbed to death with a knife through his ass by the enraged crew before he could even hoist the white flag.

In the sailor's tavern in Manila, the news spread like crazy, and there is only one enlightenment for people in the nautical industry - don't fight against the Chinese in the waters controlled by the Chinese.

The Italian captain decided not to risk his employer's life, and to hell with Spain's interests.However, he still asked a lot: "Your Excellency, I would like to ask, why did Ming Ming start a war with Spain..."

But after he asked this sentence, he felt that he asked too much.Because if he is Chinese, with a powerful fleet and army, why not?
However, the captain of the Marine Corps still answered him very seriously: "Because the Spanish Manila colonial authorities have done bad things, they massacred Chinese nationals twice, causing tens of thousands of deaths and injuries. Recently, they are planning the same thing. Our country has nothing to do with it After the result, it was decided to use force to punish."

The Italian captain listened to this statement, and he and his crew honestly sailed to Yongshu Island under the captain's arrangement.The captain is a talkative person, although the communication between the two needs an interpreter, but the Italian captain let go of his worries, feeling that at least his and his crew's personal safety has been fully guaranteed.

The captain patted him on the shoulder and said to him: "Mr. Captain, we Chinese have a saying that do as the Romans do. In the waters managed by Ming Dynasty, we should do things that conform to the rules of Ming Dynasty. Do you think Spain is a good employer? I I believe it is not the case, your skills are also in demand in Ming Dynasty. Listen, you can go to cities like Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Ningbo, where you can easily find work. You know that merchant ships under the flag of Ming Dynasty are managed in Ming Dynasty How easy is it to run a boat in the waters? Sir, work hard, you may earn several thousand taels a year."

The Italian captain was still very tempted. During this period of time, he had heard a lot about Daming.Although the country is still experiencing wars, it seems to be moving towards stability and peace. The important thing is that this country encourages maritime trade and has many opportunities.

For Bai Mingxiu, recruiting foreign technical talents is also a good thing.He has 200 million tons of capacity obtained from the system in his hand, and all of them are manned, but it is the minimum limit, and there are even cases where a large ship has only 20 crew members.So the coastal provinces have opened many sailing schools and trained fishermen to become ocean sailors.After the reform of the household registration system, Danmin, who had no status before, were also recognized. A large number of Danmin were organized to become sailors, and their families were allowed to live on land.But even so, Bai Mingxiu has not yet fully utilized all his tonnage, and Ming himself does not have so many goods to trade.This is a direction he is working towards.

The interception of two Spanish merchant ships was only a small episode. The sailors reluctantly moved the goods off Yongshu Island, and then sent them to Daming's merchant ships. These goods have obviously become Daming's spoils of war. It is a bit absurd. Among them Ninety percent of the goods were originally produced in Daming.

When the Ming Navy task force continued to advance to Manila Bay, they intercepted a merchant ship again and attacked a Spanish armed vessel trying to enter Manila Bay.In this way, the Ming Navy realized the blockade of Manila Bay, completely creating a situation where ships could not enter or exit.

The beautiful tropical weather and the sunshine make the autumn season in Manila Bay feel very comfortable.Even looking at the few Ming warships parked in Manila Bay felt a little lazy.But the people on the shore knew very well that once there were ships in the port that wanted to leave, they would be immediately surrounded by those Chinese ships.

Philippine Governor Salcedo stood angrily on top of Fort Santiago, the most important fortress in Manila Bay, looking at the Ming warship in the harbor, trembling all over.

"These damn Chinese!" Salcedo kept cursing.

He confirmed to his subordinates again: "Didn't the Chinese say something? They should give us an explanation."

"No, Your Excellency Governor, the Ming Navy just claims that they are executing orders and have nothing to do with my Spanish authorities!"

"Damn it, this is trampling on our Spanish sovereignty over the Philippines." But Salcedo had no choice but to curse.

Due to the very fast speed of the Ming Navy, before the Spaniards reacted, they had already occupied a favorable position in Manila Bay, and now they could easily attack ships in the harbor.

Salcedo, who had just taken office, did not have enough prestige. His mayor, Pamplona, ​​said solemnly to Salcedo: "Your Excellency, the people of Manila are counting on you. You must come up with Come up with an idea and solve this crisis.”

If it was normal, the citizens and nobles "trusted" him so much, Salcedo might feel very happy, but now it is all pressure.He shirked responsibility and said: "Why did the Chinese come to Manila? It's not because these stupid officials in Manila used to slaughter Chinese everywhere and gave them an excuse."

Pamplona said disappointedly: "Your Excellency, I believe that all of this has nothing to do with our previous cleansing of the Chinese. It is just because the Chinese have taken a fancy to the Philippines as a colony. You have to know how important the Philippines is to Spain. Important, this is an important stop on our global trade routes, if the Philippines is lost, the blow to Spain can be said to be huge. So no matter what means you use, you must protect the Philippines and remain under Spain's control."

Salcedo calmed down a little, he knew that what Pamplona said was correct.After all, he is also a soldier, so he said: "Hmph, you guys are afraid of the Chinese. We have thousands of troops in the Philippines. If the Chinese think they can defeat us Spaniards so easily, it is really a big mistake." Very wrong!"

(End of this chapter)