New Ming Empire mixed in America

"Long live my lord, I'm afraid I won't have to spend the New Year at sea this time."

Liu Erhe looked at the fleet behind him and said with some emotion:

"We should really have a good New Year, it's been three years..."

Li Mingqi sighed and said: "The empire has not developed, so why do you want to celebrate the New Year?"

"We will arrive in Qing Dynasty in a week, and after settling the immigration matter, it will be okay for us to spend the New Year at sea."

By this time, the Pacific Fleet had been at sea for half a month, but the originally expected arrival time had been changed again and again.

If it weren't for Li Mingqi's cheating, the fleet might have already started to experience a food crisis.

"No, there is only one Honolulu Island in the Pacific. We also need a transfer station here in the Far East."

Li Mingqi picked up the telescope, glanced at the outline of the island in the distance, and frowned.

The previously booked route started from Honolulu, passed through Midway Island and then arrived in Japan.

This is also the most commonly used route in the Pacific, but Li Mingqi is planning to open a second day route in the Pacific.

After all, it is not safe for immigration ships to take the merchant ship route. If they take other routes, they can avoid a lot of trouble.

More importantly, Li Mingqi wanted to establish another stronghold in the Pacific so that the Pacific Fleet would have supply locations no matter which side of the Pacific it was on.

He had previously thought that Honolulu Island would be enough, but as he walked he discovered that supplies would have been exhausted by the time the fleet arrived in the Far East.

If a battle breaks out suddenly, the Pacific Fleet will definitely be at a disadvantage.

The solution is not impossible. The first is to use a place in the Puppet Qing Dynasty as a supply point. This is the same as Dai Ying and Na San in the Puppet Qing concession area.

However, this method is not without its disadvantages, that is, there will be very few supplies left after arriving at the concession area, and it will be very passive if a sudden battle breaks out.

So Li Mingqi chose the second route, which was to start from Honolulu Island, pass through Guam, and then arrive in Luzon.

As for a certain Filipino, I'm sorry, this country does not exist yet. It is now a semi-colony of Europe.

The aborigines of Luzon have been in constant contact with the Chinese who have immigrated since the 17th century. By the 19th century, the two sides had basically completed their integration, forming a new Luzon ethnic group.

Moreover, it was not until 1898 that independence was called, but in the same year it became a territory of the United States.

In 1942, it became a colony of Japan. It was not until 1946 that the Philippines gained independence.

But these have nothing to do with Li Mingqi. He only knows that Luzon has been the territory of the Xinming Empire since ancient times. It can be regarded as since ancient times.

This is not nonsense. During the Three Kingdoms period, Xuanhua of the Eastern Wu Dynasty served as Zhu Ying, and Zhonglang Kangtai visited Southeast Asia when he visited the Philippines.

After that, he always had contacts with China until the Puppet Qing Dynasty, when the contacts were severed.

Not to mention that in 1661, Zheng Chenggong also established Zhenhai Mansion in Luzon.

Too much land was lost during the Puppet Qing Dynasty, and no one would care about the bigger places.

But Li Mingqi was different. Later generations unearthed Chinese porcelain from the third century in the Philippines. Well... the third century was almost the Three Kingdoms period.

Therefore, Li Mingqi would never admit that what later generations called Fafeihoubin should be called Luzon. In the previous Ming Dynasty, he called it Little Luzon and Spain as Big Luzon.

Hey, if you think about it this way, then Spain has also been the territory of the Xinming Empire since ancient times.

After some calculation, Li Mingqi was a little interested in Spain. He must take the fleet to visit Greater Luzon when he has time.

At this time, the Pacific Fleet's position was almost to Luzon.

At the same time, Li Mingqi also received a report from the battleship ahead:

"Your Majesty, Commander Cheng asked me to inform you that Luzon is arriving soon."

As for how to accurately know your location during this time period when there is no satellite positioning?

Of course it was because there were merchant ships leading the way.

These merchant ships doing business between Luzon and the Honolulu Islands know this area very well.

It was precisely because of these leading parties that Li Mingqi decided to open up a new route for immigrants.

In 1858, Britain and France jointly deposed the emperor of Luzon and replaced him with another emperor.

It should be that from that time on, the Puppet Qing Dynasty had lost control of Luzon.

Calculating time, the Luzon court at this time was still surnamed Zheng, but the court was already controlled by Dai Ying and Na San. In 1861, they announced the end of the vassal relationship with the puppet Qing Dynasty and established their own reign as "Tian'en".

Ha tui, this era name can show the embryonic form of European adopted children in Luzon at this time.

And now the great uprising that caused Luzon to lose one-fifth of its population should have begun.

"Let the fleet go directly to Manila and sail along the coast!"

After Li Mingqi finished speaking, he ordered the Pacific Fleet to hoist a bright yellow flag with the word "Xinming" written on it.

At this time, many merchant ships could be seen plying the sea, most of them flying the flags of European countries.

Although Manila was still a Spanish colony at this time, and the Spanish colonial governor in Manila lived in Manila.

But there are not only Spaniards in Luzon, but also immigrants and missionaries from various European countries such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and the United States.

Following Li Mingqi's order, the fleet began to change direction and set off towards Mindanao, the largest island that appeared first.

The fleet will circle around Mindanao, pass through the Nero Sea and enter the South China Sea.

If you want to completely solve the immigration problem, you must say hello to the fleets from European countries stationed here.

Otherwise, it would be bad if some idiot in the future wants to embarrass the immigration fleet.

"Do you recognize the flag of this fleet?"

The chief mate of a merchant ship couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw the mighty Pacific Fleet heading towards Mindanao.

Generally, it is rare to see such a large fleet here. The last time we saw a fleet of this size was during the Crimean War.

At that time, the European combined fleet was blockading Tsarist Russia, so a fleet was also sent here.

But the flag hanging in the fleet that appeared before them now was something they had never seen before.

However, the bright yellow flag at the top of the mast was too conspicuous, and the first thing they noticed was that flag.

"I have never seen this kind of flag, but I seem to know the yellow flag on the mast..."

The captain of the merchant ship put down his telescope and said strangely:

"That should be Chinese characters, a type of writing from the Qing Dynasty!"

Qing Dynasty?

"Haha... Captain, don't tell me that these battleships are owned by those decadent Qing people. This joke is not funny at all."

"Yes, those Easterners want to kneel on the ground when they see us. How can we have a fleet of this size?"

"...I think the captain is dazzled. If the Qing Dynasty really had such a fleet, it would have been impossible to save the imperial palace two years ago..."

As soon as the captain finished speaking, there was a burst of joyful laughter on the ship.

But as the fleet got closer and closer, their smiles could no longer be maintained.

Because these people really saw the Orientals with live ammunition through their telescopes!

"These...these battleships really belong to the East?"

The expression on the first mate's face was very distorted, an expression that was mixed with disbelief or as if he had seen a ghost.

The folds on his face were all twisted together, making his face look even more ugly.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" The captain couldn't believe his eyes, but he still shrugged and said:

"The soldiers on the ship are all Easterners, and their flags also have Eastern characters, so this is definitely not a dazzle on my part. I can be sure that this is the Eastern fleet!"

Similar conversations sounded on many merchant ships, and as time passed, more and more merchant ships saw this strange fleet.

Soon, this incident alerted the Spanish navy stationed here.

After hearing the appearance of the Eastern fleet on the sea, the Spanish navy captured in Manila set off immediately.

"I think they are pirates from the East again. The telegram sent back from Mindanao is obviously wrong."

After this small fleet of four sail warships set off, the fleet commander said to his adjutant:

"There are so many Eastern bugs, it seems like we can't kill them all."

"Remember the Oriental pirates who came from Ryukyu a few years ago? Those Orientals always want to cause trouble for us, but it's a pity that they don't have the strength."

After the Spanish commander finished speaking, he patted his adjutant on the shoulder. Seeing the nervous look on the other person's face, he comforted:

"Don't worry, you can't believe the news sent back by those merchant ships. They said that the other side has an entire fleet with hundreds of ships. Do you believe that the Orientals have so many warships?"

"This time your father asked you to go to sea with me because he wanted you to adapt to life at sea. How can a guy who is afraid of the sea become a qualified naval officer?"

After the commander finished speaking, he took out a cigar, lit it, and breathed out a puff of smoke leisurely.

This time, the governor's intention of sending his son into the fleet was very obvious, that is, he wanted to give this young man more experience.

After all, it is a bit unheard of for a young man who just graduated from school to become a senior officer in the navy, but as long as those pirates are defeated this time, no one will doubt it.

The governor paid a lot for his son. In order to convince the commander to take the young man to sea to gain experience, he even promised a small estate in mainland Spain.

The Spanish naval commander who received the gift reciprocated the favor and was ready to give the young naval officer the credit for defeating the Eastern pirates.

As for the huge Eastern fleet mentioned by those merchant ships, it was not taken seriously by the governor and naval commander at all.

Those merchant ships were always so cowardly and exaggerated. It was not like he had never dealt with the Eastern navy.

Those small sampans cannot be called battleships at all, not even sea ships.

That ancient oriental country was already in decay, otherwise it would not have been invaded by Britain and France into their palaces.

Even the so-called navy is not as good as the pirates of Ryukyu. It can be said that even the navy of Japan is much stronger than them.

"Uncle Sal, I read the telegram sent by the merchant ship. It said that the Easterners have..."

Seeing the relief on the commander's face, the young man let go of his nervousness, but he was a little worried when he thought about the contents of the telegram.

Before he could finish speaking, the Spanish naval commander waved his hand to disperse the smoke in front of his eyes and said:

"Kid, you have to know that those merchant ships always use exaggerated adjectives to make us nervous."

"Last time, it was said that sixty warships besieged them. After I took the warships over, I only saw them being attacked by some fishermen, and there were not even thirty fishing boats in total."

"They just want to use this exaggeration to show their bravery, otherwise how could they have time to send us a telegram?"

The Spanish naval commander saw some hesitation on the young man's face and spoke again:

"Don't worry, if it was really a battleship, the cities along the way would have been occupied by them long ago. But now in the Xinming Empire, we have not received any news about this at all."

While the two were talking, a conversation was also taking place on the Pacific Fleet that had just entered the Sulu Sea.

"Long live Lord, why don't we supply supplies along the way? Our survival is not long."

Liu Erhe asked Li Mingqi a little strangely.

Because when passing through a nearby city, Li Mingqi refused Cheng Yuanliang's request to dock for supplies.

"Do you think the city here will have enough supplies?"

Li Mingqi glared at Liu Erhe and continued:

"After you arrive in Manila, you will have the opportunity to go ashore. Now just keep moving forward."

How could he not understand the little thoughts of Liu Erhe and the others?

Even he himself couldn't help but want to dock and take a rest on land.

The month-long sea voyage also made him miss the land, but there were no big cities nearby.

They had no choice but to go to Manila, so Li Mingqi refused to let the fleet dock.

As long as you arrive in Manila, you don't have to worry about supplies.

If we dock now, it is likely that the already scarce supplies will be severely wasted.

Besides, as long as you endure it for a few days, it will all be over. You have survived for more than a month, so can you not bear it anymore?

"By the way, cheer up Cheng Yuanliang. The Spaniards have probably received the news about our arrival. Let him pay attention to the sea and don't let the Spanish navy touch him."

After Li Mingqi sent Liu Erhe away, he stayed alone in the lounge and continued to study the charts.

He got this chart from a merchant ship nearby. There are not only smart people on the sea, but also some idiots who can't understand the situation.

After those people saw that the Pacific Fleet was all Chinese, a small number of merchant ships did not stay away, but came over to watch the fun.

There are also merchant ships that want to sneak into the fleet for reconnaissance, and some merchant ships have signaled for the fleet to slow down and wait for their inspection.

Li Mingqi was so angry that he laughed at these guys.

At the same time, we can also see the situation of Chinese merchant ships in the waters of the Far East.

Li Mingqi's response to these merchant ships that dared to bomb and assassinate was very simple, two words, that is - sink!

Do these bastards really think that Chinese people are easy to bully?

Do you really think you can do whatever you want just by flying a European flag?

Bah, who got used to these bad habits of theirs?

"Long live Lord, I sent back a message earlier, saying that I saw a merchant ship belonging to the Qing Dynasty, but..."

Liu Erhe's voice sounded at the door, causing Li Mingqi to stop sketching the sea chart.

"But what? Just say it straight away, don't be hesitant to respond!"

Liu Erhe was sprayed with a few words, scratched his head and continued:

"There are several Puppet Qing merchant ships fighting with foreign merchant ships. Commander Cheng would like to ask you if you can help..."