New Ming Empire mixed in America

Messenger Lanfang obviously didn't want to go back so early. Originally, he was going to Ryukyu to discuss weapons matters with Ryukyu Commander-in-Chief Liu Mingdeng.

It's not so much a discussion as it is pleading with the other party to sell some weapons to the Lanfang Republic.

However, the Puppet Qing Dynasty at that time generally held a hostile attitude towards these "abandoned people of the Chinese Empire", and the "filial piety" of envoy Lanfang was really not in the eyes of Ryukyu officials, so he was rejected as expected.

Envoy Lanfang has been stranded in Ryukyu and has been running around with little success. If he hadn't suddenly heard about the Pacific Fleet of the Xinming Empire, he might still be running around in Ryukyu now.

This year Zuo Zongtang became the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang for the first time. Due to the burning of the Old Summer Palace last time, Ryukyu, a place that could be used to prevent foreign invasion, became a position he paid more attention to.

But the corruption of Ryukyu officials was well known. Not to mention warships, even the warships originally recorded in the records were all gone at this time, so Zuo Zongtang dispatched Liu Mingdeng and other confidants to Ryukyu.

Envoy Lanfang happened to be at this point in time this time. The local officials in Ryukyu were fighting with the airborne officials. It was normal for him to get in touch and be ignored.

If it weren't for the influence of the Lanfang Republic on the sea, this envoy might have been caught and beheaded long ago.

But now the envoy is no longer worried. This time, not only has the weapons procurement plan been initially negotiated, but he has even obtained several rare and unusual nautical charts and world maps.

The envoy stayed on Li Mingqi's ship for the whole day. Although the activity area was only the deck and the lounge assigned to him, and there were guards following him when he came in and out, the envoy did not feel bored at all.

To him, this huge ship with bright yellow flags flying everywhere looked like a palace on the sea.

Although Li Mingqi thought this royal ship was converted from a merchant ship, its combat effectiveness was rubbish, but in the eyes of envoy Lanfang, it was comparable to a battleship.

He was dazzled by the open-air gun positions on both sides of the deck. In his opinion, any naval gun that was called a rapid-fire cannon by the Guardsmen was an absolute field weapon on land.

"Manila is ahead. I heard that if there hadn't been heavy fog in the morning, it would only take two days to get there."

Beside envoy Lanfang, an entourage who followed him on board the ship said softly.

"Manila..." Messenger Lanfang muttered and then stopped talking.

They had also sent an envoy to Manila before, but the result was very frustrating. Not to mention the local Spanish governor, they did not even see the senior officials, and were sent away directly by some secretary.

Therefore, the purchase of weapons was naturally in vain. Not only weapons, but even a steam engine was not purchased.

Although the Lanfang Republic was rich, the Spanish offer was too high. Not only did the weapons increase dozens of times, but there were also a bunch of unequal treaties.

Lanfang is not as unscrupulous as the Qing Dynasty. This still very young country is very stuck in treaties, so the Spanish refuse to sell weapons to them.

These guys would rather sell their weapons to the natives than to the Lanfang Republic. Moreover, the Spanish colluded with the nearby Dutch and began to attack Lanfang's maritime trade.

Just as the envoy was deep in thought, a piercing siren suddenly sounded from the battleship ahead.

Soon, this sound was heard on all the battleships of the Pacific Fleet, even the royal ship they were on was no exception.

The alarm sounded and the deck became lively.

Groups of Guards soldiers quickly ran to their respective posts, and the turret on the bow of the ship began to slowly rotate.

The rapid-fire gun positions on both sides of the ship also began to change. The waterproof plugs at the muzzles of each rapid-fire gun were removed, and then the ammunition carts containing the shells were pushed to and placed next to the rapid-fire gun.

Two third-level armored battleships quickly approached Li Mingqi's ship and blocked the left and right sides with their hulls.

Just when envoy Lanfang was a little stunned, four Spanish warships finally appeared on the sea in the distance.

The Spanish warship is now confronting the reconnaissance ship ahead on the sea. Judging from the scars on the hulls of both sides, it is obvious that they have just experienced a moderate naval battle.

After putting down the telescope and rubbing his eyes, Messenger Lanfang raised the telescope again and looked at the confrontation in the distance.

This pair of binoculars was given to him along with the map. Not only does it have a wider field of view, but the viewing distance is also much better than that of a monocular.

But even if he rubbed his eyes, the scene he saw through the telescope still frightened him.

Two reconnaissance ships flying the Sanchen flag and the Mingzi flag actually launched the attack first.

And it seems that the Spanish warships are very afraid of these two scout ships with only a few cannons. Every time the scout ships fire, they will adjust their speed to avoid them.

But no matter how hard it tried, the Spanish warships could not catch up with the two scout ships, and could only follow behind and receive a shot from time to time.

After advancing for some distance, the Spanish warship finally discovered this huge fleet that suddenly appeared.

At the same time, envoy Lanfang was shaken by the sudden acceleration of the ship beneath his feet, and he quickly grabbed the side of the ship to stabilize his body.

"Speed ​​up, all ships in the fleet speed up!"

This thought flashed through the messenger's mind, and then he saw an incredible scene.

The two strange-looking ironclads in the fleet saw billowing smoke coming from the chimneys on the decks. The ironclads' speed suddenly increased a lot, leaving the fleet behind and rushing towards the Spanish warships.

The Spaniards who had just discovered the Pacific Fleet were already in a panic.

"Have the lookout's eyes been taken away by seagulls? Why have all the Eastern fleets appeared near us and they just discovered it?"

The Spanish battleship commander was a little angry. His flagship had been damaged in the battle with two Oriental scout ships just now, and the governor's son had also injured his arm in the shelling just now.

This was one of the reasons why he pursued the scout ship relentlessly.

"The lookout really didn't notice it just now. If the Oriental warship hadn't suddenly emitted thick smoke, we might not have discovered it."

The governor's son, with his head bandaged, defended the poor watchmen.

"We should stay away from here now. The telegrams sent from those coastal cities are correct. The Orientals did indeed dispatch more than a hundred warships!"

The young man who temporarily served as the battleship's adjutant put forward his own opinions rationally after seeing all the battleships on the sea in the distance.

"If we turn around now, we will be at a huge disadvantage. Those Easterners won't let us leave so easily."

The commander also had a headache. When he discovered the Oriental reconnaissance ship just now, he ordered it to be driven away.

In the end, I didn't expect that the Oriental's reconnaissance ship was so amazingly fast. And relying on its speed, the reconnaissance ship successfully entangled four of its warships.

The two sides fought for a round, and it was difficult for our warships to fire at the Eastern reconnaissance ships from the side. Instead, they relied on the two small cannons to cause some losses to them during the movement.

At this time, seeing two incredibly fast warships rushing out of the Eastern fleet in the distance, the Spanish commander gritted his teeth and ordered his four warships to evacuate.

In fact, the first time he saw the Pacific Fleet, he knew that the situation in Luzon was about to change.

Although there are still several warships docked at Manila Port, those warships that can only be regarded as gunboats can also deal with nearby pirates.

As for whether he will be held accountable by the Governor if he flees without a fight?

Now that the huge fleet of the Easterners has appeared here, it is doubtful whether Spain can keep this colony in the Far East.

At that time, how can the Governor have time to care about whether he is fleeing without a fight?

"The weather is going to change..." The commander of the Spanish battleship looked at the hazy black smoke appearing on the sea in the distance, and his hand holding the telescope was trembling.

But he no longer has the courage to raise the telescope. When he was observing the Eastern fleet just now, his courage was exhausted in front of the Eastern warships one after another.

"The weather is changing? NONO, I feel that the fog on the sea will last until at least the evening."

The governor's son glanced at the Oriental reconnaissance ship that was catching up behind him and made a sharp turn, and added:

"If the fog dissipates, then our situation will be dangerous..."