The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The cultural division between the north and the south gave Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming Dynasty, a headache. The North-South List Case in the early Ming Dynasty better reflected this opposition.

The Ming Dynasty originated in the south. Both the imperial examination and the orthodox interpretation of Confucianism were based on the Neo-Confucianism of the Southern Song Dynasty. The core of the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were mainly officials from Jianghuai and Zhejiang provinces and scholars from Zhejiang and Zhejiang.

However, the nobles in the north have integrated the cultural heritage of the Youyun Old Land and have a more pragmatic Confucian culture.

When the Ming Dynasty was established, Xu Da was still on the way to the Northern Expedition. The Ming Dynasty had to face these problems, how to open the psychological barriers between the Han people in the north.

The only way is to recognize the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty. Only in this way can the mentality of the northern gentry be smoothed out. And by putting the Ming Dynasty in the perspective of its successor, the contradictions left by the Yuan Dynasty can also be logically brought into one circle.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted this method to deal with the contradiction between the north and the south, and many policies were also biased towards the north.

After the country settled down, it carried out a large-scale immigration policy to reshape the order of belonging.

And the later emperor Zhu Di directly moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.

But did the Ming Dynasty completely resolve the conflict between the North and the South?

Not really.

The political center of the Ming Dynasty was in Beijing, but the economic center was in the south.

The Ming Dynasty's policy of placing more emphasis on land tax and light on commercial tax made Lao Zhu's family pay more attention to the rule of the north. However, most of the gentry in the south had long since abandoned their dependence on cultivated land and actively participated in commerce.

There are also land annexations in the south, but the southern gentry are more obsessed with protecting their clan and their hometown, and their wealth comes from the interests of commerce and trade.

Economic differences determine ideological inconsistencies. The trade-based economies of the South and the North are completely different from the old tradition of growing grain in the North.

At the same time, the unity of business interests formed an alliance between the southern gentry. In the Ming Dynasty, there was the Donglin Party, the Chu Party, and the Zhejiang Party. The north did not have these conditions, so it was naturally impossible to form an alliance with the same party and against the different parties. In the north, there was only a group of eunuchs who continued the imperial power.

There has always been antagonism between the north and the south, but it was concealed by the appearance of partisanship.

In fact, the dispute between the North and the South was not resolved until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Lin Bixiu openly said in front of Deng Zilong that he was a survivor of the Song Dynasty. Naturally, he did not recognize the Meng Yuan Dynasty. By the way, he also did not recognize that the Ming Dynasty obeyed the destiny and inherited the orthodoxy. Naturally, this made Deng Zilong very unhappy.

The orthodox status of Ming Dynasty has long been engraved in the hearts of this generation.

This was also before Chongzhen, and there was actually no soil for rebellion in the Ming Dynasty.

The previous uprisings, or rebellions, were more of a behavior in which ordinary people were forced to choose to become bandits to save themselves when they had no way out.

That is to say, after Hou Jin repeatedly entered the pass to plunder, the people's hearts were gradually shaken.

You know, the thinking of northerners is relatively more pragmatic.

The orthodox Ming Dynasty can no longer protect them, so they naturally have to rely on those who can protect them.

Therefore, when the Manchus and Qing Dynasties moved southward in a large scale, there was only slight resistance in the north, but the main resistance was still concentrated in the south.

Therefore, the people in the Confucian Mansion in Shandong could shamelessly switch from the Ming camp to Dashun and then to the Manchus in a short period of time.

At this moment, Lin Bixiu knew that he had made a mistake. Thinking of the unequal status of the two parties, he immediately lowered his head and admitted his mistake and said: 'Master Deng said yes, but the villain made a mistake. ’

Deng Zilong also wanted to contact the Yi people as soon as possible at this time, so naturally he didn't want to get into trouble.

People have gone overseas and live in Manila, so he doesn't bother to continue to rebuke him.

"Tell me, what is the name of the barbarian behind you?"

Deng Zilong did not feel at all that he was standing on the land occupied by the Yi people at this time. He still had the usual attitude of Ming people towards the Yi people and said disdainfully.

"This is Lieutenant Miguel of the Royal Spanish Navy, the captain of this transport ship"

Lin Bixiu began to introduce, while Deng Zilong listened.

Regarding the lieutenant Lin Bixiu mentioned, he didn't know what this official position represented, but since he was the captain of this ship, he regarded him as a military attache at the level of Ming Dynasty Baihu.

By the way, the Western military rank system appeared in the 15th and 16th centuries. It did not have complete military ranks such as commander, general, colonel, and lieutenant at the beginning, but appeared one after another in the long history afterwards.

According to current views, the first officers to appear were lieutenant-level officers, followed by marshals, and then generals and colonels.

In the early days of the military rank system, there was even a military rank such as "chief captain", and the status of this military rank even surpassed that of marshal.

Captain is derived from the Latin word "chief", which means military commander. This title first appeared in France in the Middle Ages. It was the title of the commander of an independent military region. The commander of a military region was called chief captain.

"I heard from Mr. Wang that Mr. Deng was sent by the Ming Dynasty to encircle and suppress the pirate Lin Feng?"

After Lin Bixiu introduced Miguel's identity, Wang Wanggao introduced Deng Zilong's identity.

After the introduction, the Yi people said a few words to Lin Bixiu that they did not understand, and Lin Bixiu began to translate.

"Yes, according to the imperial decree, I led the fleet to Luzon because there was news that Lin Feng escaped here."

Therefore, in the following time, the two sides had an in-depth discussion on the Lin Feng issue and agreed that Lin Feng was the culprit who undermined the safety of maritime traffic in East Asian waters and they should be eliminated.

"I'm glad to be able to talk to General Deng here. Since we are talking about the joint encirclement and suppression of the Lin Feng Pirate Group, Lieutenant Miguel invited General Deng to Manila City to discuss with Governor Ravisari and Commander Savera."

Lin Bixiu translated again.

Miguel's invitation made Deng Zilong a little embarrassed.

But soon, he made a decision.

He really had to go to Manila, otherwise he would be suspected of being cowardly.

As for the attitude towards the barbarians, Deng Zilong also made a decision, that is, to discuss the cooperation to encircle and suppress the Lin Feng pirate group, and not to mention anything else.

Now, it is better to let the barbarians know that the Ming Dynasty intends to intervene in Luzon, otherwise it will be disadvantageous to the Ming Dynasty.

So, Deng Zilong laughed heartily and said, "In this case, let's go and discuss how to cooperate to encircle and suppress Lin Feng."

Soon, the two sides agreed to set off for Manila early tomorrow morning and rest here for a day today.

Deng Zilong invited Lieutenant Miguel and others of the barbarians to have dinner in the camp. After dinner, he summoned Wang Wanggao and another captain.

"I will take the Dafu ship to Manila this time. You should stay here and contact other people.

Also, continue to explore the surrounding terrain, especially the periphery of the city of Tortoiseshell, and draw a map as soon as possible.

Only then will we know how to besiege Lin Feng and prevent him from escaping to other places on the island."

After Deng Zilong finished speaking, the two captains stood up and clasped their fists in agreement.

"During the time I am away, Wang Wanggao will be in charge here."

Deng Zilong continued.

At this time, Wang Wanggao said: "Sir, count the days. Admiral Yu should have received our news. I think the navy fleet will arrive soon."

Deng Zilong nodded. During these days on the island, in addition to sending people to draw maps of the surrounding area, he was also counting the time with his fingers.

Whether in ancient or modern times, the so-called war planning, calculation, and tactical deduction are actually nothing more than calculating the strength and time.

Based on the known intelligence, calculate the time and choose to attack when your own military strength is the strongest and the opponent's strength is the weakest, so as to defeat the opponent's main force in one fell swoop and destroy the opponent's confidence in fighting.

Confidence is still very important in combat.

It is good to defeat the enemy without fighting, but it also requires absolute strength.

The reality is that in order to show your own combat power, you must show your sword and use thundering means to deter the opponent, so that he dare not act rashly, or even choose to retreat and submit.

The so-called tactical victory of one city or one place that most people value is not worth mentioning in the eyes of military strategists.

As for the saying that small victories accumulate into big victories in China, it only happens under special circumstances and is more accidental.

Throughout the history of war, it is normal for the main force to win the decisive battle and thus establish the victory in one fell swoop.

The so-called victory by surprise is too risky and is not the best choice for military strategists.

Although such a victory may also cost very little.

Therefore, Deng Zilong made up his mind that the best result of this trip to Manila City was to delay the time for the Yi people to attack the Daimao City as much as possible by waiting for the arrival of the Ming Navy.

When the Ming Navy arrived, relying on the momentum created by its huge fleet, it would be a natural thing for the Ming Dynasty to take root in Luzon.

Of course, by the way, this time when he arrived in Manila City, Deng Zilong also wanted to see the situation of this new city and understand the strength of the Yi people's army.

The next morning, the weather was good, accompanied by the warm autumn breeze. The Yi people's merchant ship led the way in front, and Deng Zilong boarded the Dafu ship and followed it to Manila City.

This place is actually only more than 300 miles away from the Manila galleon, but after three days of sailing, it was close to dusk when the fleet arrived at Manila Bay.

Soon after entering the bay, a guide ship came out to guide the two ships to the shore and dock at the pier.

After Miguel and Lin Bixiu hurriedly got off the ship, they came to greet Deng Zilong and sent someone to ask the tax officer at the dock to prepare a room for the Ming soldiers to rest. At the same time, they sent someone into the city to inform the highest military and political chief in Manila, Governor Lavisari, and the highest commander of the armed forces, Commander Savella.

At the best hotel near the dock, Miguel and Garcia took Deng Zilong to the most luxurious guest room here.

After all, Deng Zilong now represents the official position of the Ming Dynasty, not just the commander of a Ming navy fleet.

This is the understanding of the Spanish. Although there are actually struggles between civil and military officials in the West, they are not as clear as in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, most of the Western powers at this time were nobles. Not only did the nobles hold huge power in the government, but many of them also reached into the army.

Just like the nobles in the early Ming Dynasty, they could almost influence the national regime.

Because in the West, the senior officers of the army are all nobles, so the Spaniards also understand the Ming Dynasty in this way, thinking that Deng Zilong can lead a fleet to here, and he is obviously a member of the nobles in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, their understanding is not wrong.

Although the Ming Dynasty only has three ranks of nobility, namely, Duke, Marquis, and Earl, the hereditary commanders, hereditary thousand households, and hundred households below can also be understood as hereditary, similar to the titles of Viscount and Baron in the West.

Therefore, the hereditary military positions in the Ming Dynasty are often called military honors. They are actually part of the nobles, but they are not on the stage.

On the night when Deng Zilong was resting in the hotel, the Governor's Mansion in Manila, Governor Lavisari and Commander Savella, as well as other officials in the city gathered together to discuss how to deal with the Ming people.

They did not blame Miguel for inviting the Ming generals here. They had already arrived in the Philippines, and it would be strange if they did not contact them.

Similar to Deng Zilong's consideration, they did not know that the Ming Dynasty had plans to get involved in the Philippines, but they considered the problem from the worst angle and were the first to say this result.

"Everyone, the Ming Dynasty is too close to here. I heard that the king here was enthroned by them before.

What I am most worried about now is that the Ming Dynasty's army will not leave after arriving, which is extremely unfavorable for our control here."

Governor Lavisari said.

He proposed this worst result, which is actually what all Spaniards in the Philippines are most worried about.

After knowing the history here and the strength of the big country in the north, it is impossible not to be afraid.

Although they conquered the Inca Empire with a population of tens of millions and an army of more than 100,000 with less than 200 musketeers, the Spaniards also knew how lucky they were when they reviewed this action.

It can only be said that God is on their side.

If it were not for the lucky capture of the monarch of the Inca Empire, the war would never end so easily because of their victory.

And the Ming Dynasty in the north is obviously a super empire that is countless times stronger than the Inca Empire.

Moreover, they had no chance to capture the emperor of the other side.

Yes, they already know that the Ming Dynasty has no king, but an emperor.

Although this is not accepted by them, it does not count if it is not approved by the Pope.

"We are short of troops here. Even if we leave only the minimum number of soldiers in other places, we can only mobilize 600 to 700 people. Even if we arm the crews on the merchant ships on the dock, the number of troops will not exceed 1,200."

Commander Savella said.

He automatically ignored the recently formed armed force formed by the locals, although the army is barely acceptable now.

But the Spaniards also know that this place seems to have belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

"Remember the leader named Suleiman we killed? I heard that he is the descendant of the King of Luzon who was originally appointed by the Ming Dynasty, so he has a huge appeal here."

Ravi Sari said again: "If the Ming people ask about it, this matter will also be troublesome."

When they arrived here, they found that the huge Luzon Island had not established a decent regime, so they thought it was ownerless.

So after killing several tribal leaders who resisted the most fiercely, they thought they had gained sovereignty here.

As for the Luzon Kingdom, we only found out about it later.

"It seems that the Sulu Kingdom in the south is also the same. Their king was appointed by the Ming Emperor."

Lavisari added at the end.

"If we had known earlier, we should have dealt with the Sulu people earlier."

Savila said with some regret.

"Fortunately, the king's golden seal should have been minted into gold coins in Mexico now."

Lavisari said this with a smile, which actually revealed their intention, that is, they would never admit that there was a king here. (End of this chapter)