Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 306 The Enemy Won’t Be Obedient
“%￥%￥%￥!”
"Fuego~!"
Yan Siqi and others formulated a guerrilla strategy in the waters of Fujian, which was not wrong from a purely military perspective. But if we consider it from a political perspective, it was a big mistake!
Because, as a determined time traveler, Luojafutu knew very well that with Thailand's current national strength, challenging the Ming Dynasty would be a battle where winning ninety-nine times would not necessarily lead to victory, but losing once would lead to total defeat. In such a battle, there is no doubt that the more time given to the Ming Dynasty to prepare, the slim chance of victory would become almost non-existent.
Therefore, once the war broke out, before getting Kaiyang’s head, the Thai army’s basic requirement was just one word: fast!
Therefore, the Western Allied Forces landed on Hainan Island on April 3 and defeated the almost nonexistent resistance of the local garrison soldiers. On the one hand, they let the army disembark to rest, and let the slaves of Zhenla with the army build the port. On the other hand, after a short rest, the entire Western fleet quickly headed north. On April 7, they entered the Lingdingyang. On the 8th, they bombarded Hutouguan, south of Guangzhou.
Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, Luo Jifutu stood on the side of the battleship "Naresuan" with his brows furrowed and his expression serious.
"Your Majesty, congratulations! Our heroic combined fleet has defeated the enemy so fiercely that they dare not even show their heads."
"Hehe~" Luo Zhifu smiled politely and said, "Mr. Viscount Alfonso, have your men returned from contacting the Portuguese in Macau? What was the result?"
"Oh~ Yes, yes, I forgot to report this to His Majesty the King. We have contacted Macau, and after sincere communication, they are willing to send five 1,000-ton sailing ships to join the joint fleet. However, they also said that they are unwilling to declare war on the Ming government, so they can only fly your country's flag."
"That doesn't matter." He waved his hand casually, thinking to himself, I don't care much about your five old Spanish galleons - the deck towers are too high, and there are too many cabins under the deck for sailors and cargo. Although they are 1,000-ton ships, the actual artillery they can carry is not as good as the 600-ton galleons in the current fleet.
Originally, according to Luo Zhifutu's idea, forcing the Portuguese in Macau to join the war would only be better than nothing. The important thing was to further stimulate the Ming Dynasty and then prompt the Ming Dynasty to send its army to Macau. It was true that Portugal belonged to Spain now, but the Portuguese who had been overseas for a long time did not recognize Spain as their motherland. If the Ming Dynasty and the Portuguese could break up, then the Ming Dynasty would have one more enemy in Southeast Asia in the future.
Unfortunately, Philip, who was far away in Spain, was too busy to appease the Portuguese, so how could he allow the Spanish to deliberately force the Portuguese overseas? Therefore, in this joint fleet of the West and the West, Viscount Alfonso of Spain firmly followed the will of Philip IV and only gently persuaded the Portuguese in Macau without even a word of coercion.
In short, Macau only sent such a small number of troops, and there was not much difference between having them and not having them. The most important thing was that these guys were unwilling to make their attitude clear! The Spaniards also expressed their understanding of this!
"These bastards." After cursing inwardly, Luojafutu raised his head, still with the signature Thai expression: "Your Excellency, how are your scholars measuring the hydrology here?"
"Oh! Your Majesty, we have only been here for half a day. How can we possibly understand the hydrological conditions here? You have seen the fishermen we caught. There is not a single piece of healthy skin on their bodies, but they just refused to guide us into the Pearl River."
"The people of the Ming Dynasty still have blood in their veins." He glanced at the bombed Hutou Pass with worry. Luo Zhifu turned around and said , "Your Excellency, let's retreat first."
"Okay, I agree that it's a complete waste of ammunition here. So, where are we going next?"
"Go to Taiwan. According to the agreement between me and your Majesty, Taiwan will be handed over to your country."
"Oh! Okay, I'll go and tell my fleet right away!" Hearing that Luoyafutu was finally willing to lead the team to Taiwan, Alfonso jumped up and said, "It is the greatest honor for us, his subjects, to open up a new colony for His Majesty!"
"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency."
"Ah, Your Majesty, I know what you want to say. Please rest assured, after I go to Taiwan to raise our Spanish flag, I will lead my fleet to continue to accompany you to attack the Changsha Shipyard of Ming. After all, before I led the team out, His Majesty has repeatedly emphasized to me that I must obey your unified command."
"Uh..." Luo Jifutu, who was choking uncomfortably, had to adjust his direction again and said to the generals around him: "Carry out the previous order."
"As you command, my Lord."
…
The Taixi Combined Fleet did retreat, but Xiong Tingbi, who had rushed over from Guangzhou City and was looking at the devastated scene, was now furious!
"What a shame! What a shame! Not only did we lose Qiongzhou Prefecture, but we also let these villains run wild at our doorstep! The people of the Ming Dynasty were actually kidnapped and killed! I, Xiong Tingbi, feel so ashamed of the emperor, His Highness, and the people!"
"General, now is not the time to blame yourself. The most urgent task is to quickly send warriors to risk their lives to go out to sea and contact General Yan and others. Ask them to gather our Ming fleet and fight these villains!"
"Hmm~" After hearing Liu Zhaosun's words, Xiong Tingbi, who was furious before, turned around and his mood was completely normal: "General Liu, our navy may not be counted on for the time being."
"Ah? Why is that?"
"The villains have been planning for a long time. This time, their navy is far more powerful than ours. If our army engages in a decisive battle at sea, the possibility of winning is too small. According to your highness, losing a fleet is a small matter. If the few naval talents and skilled sailors of our Ming Dynasty are wiped out in one battle, the backbone of the entire Ming Dynasty navy will be gone!
So, before Yan Shuai went out to sea this time, I said, if you don’t have a 40% chance of winning, then don’t gamble.”
"...General, it is right for you to make such an arrangement. But!" Liu Zhaosun spread his hands: "General, if the bandits land, I dare not say that I will win every battle, but at least I have to make them look bad. But if they don't get off the ship, I really can't do anything. You must know that now in my Kunming Town, cannons with a caliber of 90mm or more are considered huge cannons, and they are extremely difficult to transport. But the cannons on this warship are not uncommon at 130mm. Besides, the bandits use boats as a means of transportation and harass my coastal provinces along the way, while the men under my command only have a pair of legs. This, without the cooperation of the navy, I... Hey, I don't care about my career, at most I can go back to be a guard by His Highness' side, or exchange positions with that bastard Li Shizhong. But you, General Xiong? Civil officials have the responsibility to defend the land! If they lose Qiongzhou Prefecture, just treat it as the bandits' shamelessness and launch a surprise attack. If they lose another place..."
"General Liu, you don't need to say anything!" Xiong Tingbi said calmly, "Do you know why I am the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Kaiyang is the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Li Qing is the Governor-General of Southeast Asia?"
"Of course it's because you are all His Highness's teachers and the people His Highness trusts the most."
"Yes, we are all His Highness's teachers. Therefore, we are also the ones who bear the blame for His Highness!"
“… …”
"General Liu, once the war starts, the enemy will not listen to us, let alone follow our steps. In addition, the enemy has been planning for a long time, and we are not well prepared. Therefore, early setbacks are inevitable. At this time, someone must bravely take up the responsibility. If we, your highness' teachers, take up the responsibility, you and General Yan will be less disturbed and make decisions purely from the perspective of the battlefield. In this way, our careers may be affected. But! My Ming Dynasty will win more beautifully in this war!"
