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I couldn't even burn it, because I couldn't find so much dry firewood, and the dry firewood piled up in the house was severely damp.

I found it troublesome to start a fire. Those Dutch soldiers all drank raw water directly.

Only the Datong Army has strict military discipline, and no matter how difficult it is to start a fire, they must drink boiled water. During the two days of the typhoon, the Datong Army who invaded the city could only drink raw water on the spot.

The fleets of China, the Netherlands, Brunei, and Sulu all hid in ports in Manila Bay.

After the typhoon passed, they only dared to patrol the offshore area, for fear of encountering another storm after going out to sea.The Spanish fleet also did not dare to come over, and both sides waited for a while before engaging in naval battles.

Moreover, each of them is busy repairing the ship, hiding in the port will inevitably be damaged.

For the next half month, no one moved.

Inside the castle, there were a few Spanish officials and about 280 Spanish soldiers.There are also hundreds of Japanese mercenaries, as well as the remaining Pampanga native soldiers.

The Governor of Spain, Coquera, personally inspects it every day.

The more it rained, the more frightened he became. He was afraid that the Chinese army would attack the castle in the rain, but the rainy day would make the army more vigilant.

"No more fights?" Tie Hong asked.

"No more fighting," Wang Hui said, shaking his head. "Anyway, the city has been occupied, and there is only one castle left. There is no need to increase casualties. After a while, bring the soldiers' families and make their homes in this city. Move some more Farmers, cultivate around the city. Before that, we built fortifications around the castle, surrounded the castle, and beat anyone who dared to come out. Starve these red-haired ghosts to death! He has a year's food, so we will surround it for a year !"

There are also sunny days in the rainy season.

Once it was sunny, the Datong Army commanded the native soldiers to push the dirt into the city with a cart.Around the castle, outside the moat, built fortifications against artillery fire.

Moreover, all bridge passages on the moat were blocked by native soldiers.

If the Spanish defenders wanted to fight out, they had to cross the river by rowing boats, and remove the obstacles before walking on the bridge.

Fort Santiago is extremely strong, with walls up to ten meters thick.

Wang Hui didn't even bother to use artillery to attack the city, because the castle's fortress was condescending and protected by stone walls, which gave it an advantage in artillery battles when defending.

Governor Corquera stood on the castle turret, looking around at the enemy fortifications that were gradually taking shape, and he had absolutely nothing to do about it.Fort Santiago in Manila, known by the colonists as the "Sacred Land of Freedom", is now known as a cell that restricts his freedom.

The castle has been besieged more than once.

Basically, after three to five months, the enemy troops will withdraw automatically.Because neither the natives of Luzon nor the Sulu Sultanate could support the food supply for the army to besiege the city for half a year.

And after the city of Manila is repaired, the enemy can't even attack the city of Manila, let alone enter the city to surround the castle.

But this time it's troublesome.

China is not a native of Luzon, nor is it a small Sulu country. Food distribution is no problem at all, and the defenders in the castle can be surrounded to starve to death!

"I just said don't massacre Tang people!"

Governor Saunders was roaring and complaining again: "Killing those Tang people, what can we get besides looting property? The barber is gone, the shoemaker is gone, and the shit is not taken away. It's all right now. , The emperor of China sent troops, they surrounded the castle and did not leave, can our food last for half a year?"

"Of course, there is grain in the cellar, and there is grain in the warehouse," Coquella turned around and asked, "Don't tell me you didn't get a share of the goods looted by the massacre of the Tang people? Not only was it divided, but it was a lot."

Sanders asked: "So how do you say you should deal with the dilemma?"

Coquella was silent.

It is impossible to send reinforcements in Spain, and it is impossible to send reinforcements from the Americas.

The 30-year war has not yet ended. In Europe, Spain is fighting with the Netherlands, France and other alliances at the same time.It is also very weak in the Americas. A big defeat last year caused the trade of galleons to be cut off for a short time. It is the ultimate to be able to restore the Pacific waterway.

Not only that, Spain has operated the southern Philippine archipelago for decades. Although they have built a large number of cities, ports, forts and beacon towers along the coast, their power can only be maintained in the coastal area.

In the southern archipelago of the Philippines, there are a large number of indigenous people who believe in Green Cult, and their spiritual leader is Sulu Sultan.

Although the nobles of the Sulu Kingdom are lying flat, these low-level natives of the Green Cult are revolting year after year.It was precisely because of the resistance of the natives that the strength of Spain was diluted, and only [-] Spanish soldiers were stationed in Manila.

What Corquila was more worried about was the Japanese mercenaries in the castle!

Will these Japanese ronin rebel and surrender after being besieged for another month?

……

Mountains northwest of Manila.

There are only more than 2200 Han refugees who fled into the mountains.Those who have survived hunger, war, illness and the rainy season have basically adapted to the environment.

In the past six months, they destroyed three Spanish plantations and defeated the natives of Pampanga once.Moreover, they formed a temporary combat alliance with a friendly Pampanga indigenous tribe.

The Pampanga people are not all Spanish lackeys. The further they go into the mountains, the less they will obey Spanish rule.

One day, the rain stopped.

The aborigines of Pangbangya came to the Han Chinese settlement, chattering about something.

Immediately, a refugee who was a businessman shouted excitedly: "Your Majesty has sent troops, they have already attacked Manila, and are surrounding the red-haired ghost's castle!"

As soon as the words came out, there was silence everywhere, and everyone couldn't believe it.

Wan Zhaoan bowed to the north: "His Majesty the Emperor of Datong, long live long live long live!"

The other refugees reacted, and they all knelt down, crying and crying, "Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

Shouting and kneeling for a long time, Lin Lang suddenly said, "Let's go out of the mountain and go to Manila to find His Majesty's army."

"Why don't we go after the rainy season?" the scholar Lei Lisheng said.

"How can we wait? It's not easy in this forest, how many people have died of illness!" Chen Yigui immediately objected.

Lei Lisheng said: "Listen to Marshal Wan."

Wan Zhao'an thought for a long time: "Manila's castle is not easy to attack, and we can't help if we go there. The miasma in this mountain forest is very bad, and it's not a place to stay for a long time. It's better to attack the manor of the red-haired ghost. You can get food, I can find a good place to live. Manila is surrounded by the Datong army, no matter how we attack the manor, there will be no army of red-haired ghosts to rescue."

"Correct!"

Lin Lang gritted his teeth and said: "Our property has been robbed, and we will be poor when we go back to Manila. Why don't we go to the manor of the red-haired ghost? If we lose as much, we will rob his mother back!"

Wan Zhao'an smiled and said to the crowd: "If you are willing to stay and become an owner, when we break through the red-haired ghost's farm, we will distribute the land to cultivate it ourselves. Those are cultivated land, and there will definitely be good harvests from planting crops."

Chen Yigui smiled and said: "It's not just a good harvest, if you grow rice, you can get three crops a year."

Wan Zhaoan clapped his hands and said, "Then we specialize in the red-haired ghost's manor, and we will distribute the land in a unified manner. In order to prevent people from favoritism, we divide the land by lot every time. The more land we occupy, the more we will share." When the time comes, take it to the Datong Army to settle down and report, from now on we will all be big landlords!"

"Okay, I will be a landlord in Luzon!"

"I still have to learn from the red-haired ghosts and catch some barbarians to be tenants."

"That's not a tenant, that's a serf."

"It doesn't matter whether he is a tenant or a serf, anyway, the native barbarians have to help plant the land, otherwise there is too much land, how can we grow it?"

"Send troops, send troops!"

Chapter 501 [Carve up Nanyang]

"Want to negotiate on the other side?"

"Yes, the red-haired governor said to negotiate."

"Go to the island and invite Langzhong Zheng."

Zheng Guozhong's current official position is Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Rites, which is equivalent to the deputy director of the central organization.He had managed the industrial and commercial sector in Fujian and was familiar with Manila trade, so he was appointed as the envoy, and he presided over the canonization of the kings of Brunei and Sulu.

Under the protection of several soldiers, Zheng Guozhong crossed the barriers beside the moat and came to the center of the bridge over the moat.

Governor Coquera also came over. There were tables and chairs on the bridge, and the two sides sat there to negotiate.

Through translation, the two parties exchanged names and positions.

Immediately, Coquera said: "In view of the massacre of Tang people by Pampanga soldiers, we feel very sad and sympathetic, and at the same time extend our most sincere apologies to your country..."

"The city is already under siege, so stop talking nonsense!" Zheng Guozhong interrupted directly.

Coquella was surprised: "Your envoy can speak Spanish."

Zheng Guozhong said blankly: "I have lived in Manila for four years, and one of the Chinese people who were killed last year was my uncle. So, why are you willing to surrender? Just ask for the conditions, don't talk about it." The nonsense of soldiers killing Han people."

Coquila was speechless for a moment, and several congressmen who participated in the negotiation also stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.

The chief negotiator in China turned out to be a family member of the victim of the Tu Hua incident.

After a moment of silence, Coquila said: "As long as your country withdraws its troops from Manila, we are willing to compensate you for the loss of 5 pesos. At the same time, we will guarantee the safety of the Chinese in Manila. From now on, the tax amount of the Chinese will be the same as that of the Spaniards, and will not be paid any more. Excessively taxed."

5 Spanish pesos is 4 taels of silver.

Zheng Guozhong sneered contemptuously: "Is this your sincerity? Surrender should look like surrender, don't think about bargaining!"

Spain's talk of surrender at this time is exactly the same as the Dutch talked about surrender more than 20 years ago.

It is obvious that there is no way out, but there is still no sincerity.The only difference is that after the Dutch talks collapsed, the enemy withdrew their troops out of food and grass, and it is impossible for China to withdraw its troops now.

Coquila continued to test: "How about compensation of 10 pesos?"

Zheng Guozhong said: "Luzon Island, China is about to be settled!"

Corquila suddenly felt desperate. If he lost Luzon, he might spend his whole life in prison if he went back.

Since Portugal's independence from Spain, the Netherlands has dominated Java again, sending troops to intercept Spanish ships every year, and coming to remove Spanish outlying strongholds every year.In order to maintain the rule of Manila, 40% of the silver production in the Americas is shipped directly to Manila every year for administrative and military expenses.

It is conceivable how much the Spanish royal family values ​​the Philippines!

Of course, corruption is also very serious. 40% of the silver production in the Americas is shipped to Manila every year for rapid consumption.It is said that it is recruiting troops, and it is said that it is building warships, but the strength of Manila is still like this.

Although the Spanish royal family monopolizes the galleon trade, the annual smuggling is extremely alarming, and it is all smuggled by colonial officials in the Americas and the Philippines.

Coquera forced himself to be calm: "Your Excellency, don't forget that once my country loses Manila, the silver silk trade will be completely cut off. At that time, Chinese merchants will also suffer heavy losses, and China's raw silk will completely lose the American market."

Galleon trade, also known as "silver silk trade", as long as the commodities are Chinese raw silk and American silver.

Among them, Husi has the largest proportion, that is, raw silk from Huzhou Prefecture.

If the silver silk trade is cut off, a large number of workers in Huzhou Prefecture and its surrounding areas will inevitably lose their jobs in a short period of time, and the income of farmers who grow mulberry and silkworms will also drop sharply.

In addition, workers and peasants in Guangdong and surrounding areas will also suffer certain losses.Because the market share of raw silk from Guangdong is second only to lake silk, and Guangdong raw silk is shipped from Jiangxi, Hunan and other places.

Zheng Guozhong said disdainfully: "How can the interests of merchants be compared with the majesty of the imperial court?"

Corquila was speechless for a moment. He felt like a fool when he talked about business interests with Chinese officials.

Zheng Guozhong wanted to kill all these bastards, but he had an important task.That is to throw the Spanish governor and army to the Philippine Islands further south without affecting the battle situation.

Spain must fight, but it cannot be beaten to death with a stick, and the Netherlands cannot be the only one.

Zheng Zhilong and Nanyang merchants provided a lot of information to Zhao Han.Based on this information, Zhao Han repeatedly discussed with the cabinet and calculated the most beneficial result for China.That is: China occupies Luzon Island, the Netherlands occupies the southern region of Mindanao, and Spain continues to occupy the southern islands.

As a result, Spain, the Netherlands, and Sulu will fall into a long-term melee.

And China is the suzerain of Brunei and Sulu, and can intervene in the war according to its own interests at any time.

At the same time, Spain was able to survive and continue to maintain the silver trade, bringing a large amount of American silver to China and shipping Chinese goods to the American market.

As the emperor, Zhao Han couldn't just think about revenge, but also had to take the overall situation into consideration.

If Spain is completely driven out of Nanyang, both China and Spain will lose out in the overall and long-term perspective, and the only real beneficiaries will be the Netherlands.

"stop!"

"Step aside!"

The Dutch naval and army commanders finally came in a hurry when they learned that China was negotiating with Spain.

However, being blocked on the periphery, it is impossible to approach at all.

Zheng Guozhong smiled and ordered: "Let them come here."

There are three Dutch negotiators. In addition to the navy and army commanders, the real negotiating leader is Kui Yi.

According to the transliteration standards of later generations, Kuiyi should be translated as Kuayite.Historically, Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan from this person, but Kui Yi at this time was only a "senior businessman" of the East India Company.

"Please sit down." Zheng Guozhong said.

Kui asked straight to the point: "What did you talk about just now?"

Zheng Guozhong said: "Spain compensated my country with 10 pesos, and the Chinese army withdrew from Luzon."

"Don't be fooled by them!" Kui Yi said immediately.

Once China withdraws its troops, the Netherlands can only withdraw its troops, and there is no benefit.

Because of the southern Philippine archipelago, there are garrisons in various strongholds.There has been no news of the Spanish fleet for a long time, and most of them gathered troops in the southern islands, and it is very likely that there will be thousands of Spanish troops.

At that time, the Chinese navy and army will withdraw, and the Netherlands will not be able to bear it at all.

Coqueira, the Spanish governor, didn't pay attention to the Dutch at all. He glanced at Kui Yi and said, "Spain only negotiates with China, and you can just listen here."

Kui Yi retorted: "China and the Netherlands are allies, and the Netherlands has the right to participate in negotiations and share the benefits of the war."