I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 368 China and the Netherlands join forces
"General, those red-haired ghosts are here."

The Ming fleet easily captured Corregidor Island and prepared to march into Manila Bay, but the Dutch fleet finally arrived late.

The coalition forces of the two countries gathered outside Manila Bay, together with the Bruneian and Sulu fleets.

Dutch Commander De Wit met Liu Sheng on Corregidor Island and greeted Liu Sheng warmly: "Hello, Chinese friends, my name is De Wit, and I am the commander of the Dutch fleet this time."

He is completely unlike the same person as his previous reckless attitude towards the Governor of Batavia.

After all, how could someone who could be the commander of the Batavia fleet be a reckless man.

Both of them were accompanied by interpreters, so there was no need to worry about language barriers.

Liu Sheng asked: "How is the war in the south?"

De Wit said: "The natives of the South Philippines have been conquered by our Dutch and are now besieging Cebu Island. I left 50 soldiers there, and there are [-] native troops to continue the siege. It is only a matter of time before the damn Spanish are defeated. .”

Southern Philippines was called by the Spanish. The indigenous people here were called Moors (not Moorish Manor) by the Spanish because of their heavy traces of Muslim culture.

There used to be many mosques in Manila, but they were later demolished by the orthodox Spaniards and converted into Catholic churches.

It can be said that even if we can't win Manila.As long as we can capture Cebu Island and control the shipping lanes and ports of the South Philippine Islands.

The Dutch have also made money!
The two exchanged military information and troop strength with each other, then left the island and returned to their respective fleets to prepare to attack Manila.

Liu Sheng couldn't help complaining: "These red-haired ghosts actually only sent a thousand troops, and the others were all natives. Are they here to fight the autumn wind behind us?"

Cui Li said: "It doesn't matter. The fewer troops they send, the Ming Dynasty will definitely win Manila."

Liu Sheng was noncommittal.

DeWitt returned to the fleet, immediately began to write a letter, and sent someone to quickly send it back to Batavia by ship.

The Chinese emperor actually sent five thousand troops and twice as many warships as the Dutch.

With such a large number of troops, if the Chinese emperor really wanted Manila, it would be really difficult for the Dutch to fight for it.

DeWitt could only inform the governor first so that he could make plans in advance.

However, if the Chinese emperor really wanted it, then the Dutch would most likely have to give in.

The Spaniards are not as strong as before, and so are the Dutch.

Anyway, by winning the Southern Philippines, the Dutch won't lose.

With the entire southern channel port in hand, and having driven away the Spanish competitor, the Dutch can finally take a breather.

……

The Dutch and Chinese allied fleets, together with the indigenous peoples of Brunei, Sulu, and Ilok, joined forces outside Manila Bay.

The Spaniards were finally in disarray.

The original plan of Governors Cossio and Campo was to concentrate their forces and retreat to Manila, leaving Corregidor Island as a thorn outside.

As long as the Dutch and Chinese troops want to attack Manila, Corregidor Island must be uprooted first.

Although this is only a small island of 5 square kilometers, it controls the throat of Manila Bay and its strategic location is very important.

When the Dutch and Chinese coalition forces are held back by Corregidor Island, they can send their Spanish Manila fleet to cut off the coalition's maritime retreat.

But the reality is that the Spanish defenders on Corregidor saw that the situation was not good and fled directly back to Manila.

The nail was just pulled out.

This time the Spaniards had their throats strangled.

After all, Spain is no longer the empire on which the sun never sets ten years ago. In another time and space, in another 40 years, the British will come and give the Spaniards a hard lesson with a stick.

The Spanish Manila fleet was no longer in hiding.

Just outside Manila Bay, a large-scale naval battle is about to break out.

The Spanish fleet has a total of 15 warships, three of which are Manila galleons, and the largest one has a displacement of more than 3 tons.

The information Jiale gave was indeed correct.

The Ming and Dutch coalition fleets have been waiting for a long time. Together with the indigenous fleets of Brunei and Sulu people, the number of warships is approaching 100.

Liu Sheng and DeWitt reached a consensus and knew that it would be impossible to safely siege Manila without getting rid of the Spanish navy first.Although there are many warships on both sides, less than half are indigenous warships. Not only are they small in tonnage, but their speed is extremely slow, which can basically be ignored.

Even if the warships of the Sino-Dutch coalition faced the Spanish Manila galleon, they were still not enough.

The Manila galleon was not only large in tonnage, but also very fast.More importantly, it is also very sturdy, made of hardwood, and can be transported to and from America and Luzon for more than ten years without deterioration.

Liu Sheng's idea was to use the number of warships to forcibly pile up these Spaniards to death.

The Ming and Dutch warships quickly separated, preparing to surround the Spanish fleet in order to close the door and beat the dog.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Ming artillery fired first, followed by the Dutch and Spanish.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

On the sea, before the encirclement of the battleships was completed, there was a burst of artillery fire.

Less than half an hour into the battle, a Ming warship was riddled with holes and hurriedly withdrew from the battlefield.

"These big Fo Lang robot warships are so strong that they can't even be broken?"

But I saw a Spanish warship, which was riddled with holes despite the gunfire from the Ming warship. It was still firing at the Ming warship.

It can't go on like this!

When two more warships were scrapped, one of the warships had its mast broken on the spot.

Liu Sheng immediately asked the sentry tower to raise a flag: "Everyone rush forward and replace the shells with explosives!"

Liu Sheng originally wanted to rely on the range and numerical advantages of artillery to fight these Spaniards from a distance.

But these Spaniards are serious navies after all, and have been at sea for many years.Regardless of the gunner's experience and technology, or the battleship's sturdiness, it was much stronger than theirs.

It is obvious that long-range bombardment is not an advantage, so the only option is to use it more aggressively.

The Ming warships took a posture to engage in a broadside battle. When the Dutch saw this, they immediately followed suit.

They have a feud with the Spaniards and there are religious conflicts. No matter what the upper class thinks, the lower class still hates the Spaniards and will not show mercy if they can take action.

The Chinese and Dutch fleets surrounded and rushed forward at the same time.

The Spaniards quickly retreated while firing guns. They had too few warships and troops. If they really wanted to engage in a boarding battle, they would definitely not be able to defeat them.

The fleets of the two armies chased each other, and soon chased from Manila to Mindoro Island (Spanish gold mine).

This is the territory of the Xibuyan people. Records from the Song and Yuan Dynasties recorded that this place was called Mayi Country (meaning black country) and was rich in yellow wax, pearls, and betel nuts.

The Dutch blocked the Spanish's escape route and were just about to launch a hookline and launch a boarding battle.

"Boom boom boom!"

However, the Ming warship suddenly opened fire at close range.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Before the two Spanish warships that were bombarded could react, explosions suddenly occurred everywhere on the ship. The powerful explosive power quickly ignited the two warships.

In a blink of an eye, the two Spanish warships were enveloped in gunpowder on the spot. The Spanish sailors and soldiers on board all jumped ship to escape.

The Spaniards, Dutch, and natives of Brunei and Sulu on the battlefield were all dumbfounded.

what weapon is this?
At that time, China did not have any explosives, and Europe could not solve the problem of explosives.

In fact, the Ming army has not completely solved it, but it can be achieved with mortars at close range.

It was a surprise attack.

　Red-haired ghost is a name given to the Dutch. Although the Spaniards and Portuguese also have red hair, they have never been called the red-haired ghost by China.

　　(After writing this plot, let’s go back to China! I feel like no one likes it)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)