The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After King Bakker of Sulu expressed his concern about the expansion of the barbarians, Deng Zilong waved his hand and smiled, "King Bakker, don't worry. Our Great Ming Emperor will not let the vassal state be bullied by the barbarians.

Luzon is originally a vassal of our Great Ming, and the court has sent a governor to help it develop.

It's not that easy for the barbarians to occupy it if they want to. Let's wait for this matter. When the news comes back, the court will definitely have an explanation."

Deng Zilong made preparations in advance to prevent the Ming Dynasty from stationing troops in Luzon to make Sulu worry again and treat the Ming Dynasty and the barbarians the same.

At the same time, it was also to appease Bakker's heart and let him not be nervous about the barbarians.

By then, the Ming Dynasty's army will be stationed in Luzon, which is close at hand. Will he still be afraid that the barbarians will use force against Sulu?

Bakker is not wary of the Ming Dynasty. Think about it. If the Ming Dynasty had huge ambitions for external expansion, when Zheng He's fleet arrived in Nanyang, all the surrounding islands would have been included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

That is to say, when the Ming Dynasty occupied Annan, several small countries around it became nervous.

However, there was a reason why the Ming Dynasty occupied Annan. The king of Annan, who was enthroned by the Ming Dynasty, was killed by rebels, and there was no suitable successor.

Moreover, the rebels not only killed the new king of Annan, who was enthroned by the Ming Dynasty, but also killed the Ming army escorting him.

In this case, Emperor Yongle chose to send troops to take over Annan directly. It was really that the anger there was too heavy and needed to be educated by Confucianism.

But it was unexpected that the local people would rebound so fiercely that the Ming army could only choose to retreat.

In general, because the Ming Dynasty had an indifferent attitude towards the Nanyang countries in the middle and late period, they felt that the Ming Dynasty had no ambitions and were more at ease.

Otherwise, who would dare to covet the Ming Dynasty Jiugang Xuanwei Division at the beginning.

"General Deng, do you mean that the country intends to intervene in Luzon's affairs?

I heard that after the former king of Luzon was killed by the barbarians, none of his family members survived."

Baker seemed to understand what Deng Zilong meant and asked in surprise.

"Everything still depends on the court, but it mainly depends on how the people of Luzon choose.

It's not that the Ming Dynasty didn't want to do things for the people at the beginning, but King Baker should know about the affairs of Annan. The local people are unwilling to submit, so my Ming Dynasty can only withdraw.

Until now, although the Ming Dynasty still enthroned the king of Annan, it has been unwilling to participate in the affairs of the South Seas for more than a hundred years.

So, I am not very clear whether the court will choose to intervene or leave it alone in the current situation in Luzon."

Deng Zilong's answer was very tactful. Although he knew the truth, he would never tell Baker here.

"The barbarians in Luzon are powerful, and the Ming Dynasty cannot ignore them.

The barbarians can occupy Luzon today, and they can attack our Sulu Kingdom and other foreign countries tomorrow.

General Deng must report the true situation in Nanyang to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and ask him to consider the peaceful life of the people in Nanyang and send troops to maintain peace in Nanyang."

Baker heard that the Ming Dynasty seemed to have lost confidence in Nanyang after the incident in Annan.

No wonder they have not cared about the situation here for so many years, and have not even sent a fleet to take a look.

"If King Baker is interested, why not write a memorial? I will arrange for someone to send it back to the capital. I hope that His Majesty can consider the facts and help Nanyang to ensure peace and tranquility here."

When Deng Zilong said this, he suddenly had an idea, so he continued: 'King Baker might as well contact other rulers in Nanyang to see their attitudes.

If they are the same as you, why not submit a memorial together, perhaps the impact will be greater. '

"Well, I understand."

After hearing what Deng Zilong said, Baker thought about several kings around him quickly.

There are actually quite a lot of countries in the South Seas, but they can be roughly divided into two categories. One is the island countries like Luzon and Sulu, and the other is the continental countries like Annan and Siam.

Sulu usually contacts more with the island countries of Luzon, Brunei, Bachang and Aceh, as well as the emerging Banten. The Bachang Empire and the Banten Empire were both territories of the former Kingdom of Tamu.

It's just that after the Kingdom of Tamu lost Temasek under the attack of the Portuguese, it went from prosperity to decline too quickly, and the kingdom soon split.

Now it seems that there is only one way to contact the Sultan of Brunei to see his attitude.

As for Bachang and Aceh, forget it. I heard that Aceh has always been eyeing Temasek, and the nobles in Bachang seem to be powerful, and there are signs of threatening the kingdom's rule. It is estimated that they don't care about the barbarians.

Baker naturally did not tell Deng Zilong about these ideas. He only planned to send someone to contact the Brunei Sultan after he returned and tell him about the situation. Anyway, he planned to bring the Ming Dynasty into the South Seas, at least to ensure the safety of the Sulu Kingdom.

After leaving Deng Zilong's camp and returning to his own camp, Baker wrote a letter and sent his attendant to Brunei. On Luzon Island, the Ming army and the Spanish army's attack on the city of Daimao was still continuing.

"My lord, Savilla means that we still have to send troops every day to pretend to attack the city and consume Lin Feng's firearms reserves.

They are now surrounded in the city and cannot get supplies. I think their gunpowder will soon run out.

At that time, we can push the cannons to the city and blow down their walls."

Wang Wanggao entered the military tent and reported the news passed by the barbarians.

Although the number of artillery in Tortoiseshell City is smaller, the gunners are indeed highly skilled. With the advantage of the city wall being higher than the ground, their artillery can always accurately hit the artillery of the Ming army and the Spanish.

The artillery lost by the Ming Dynasty was a shell fired by the pirate gunners in Tortoiseshell City that directly hit the barrel of the Ming army's artillery, causing the barrel of the cannon to bend and be scrapped.

And that shell directly took away the lives of two Ming soldiers who pushed the cannon.

After seeing their artillery skills, both the Ming army and the Spaniards gave up their plan to push the artillery closer and bombard the city wall directly.

These days, casting a cannon is quite complicated, so it is natural that the cannon will not be lost for no reason.

"Well, then send out a small team of soldiers and bring the agile locals to charge, and retreat once they are shelled by the opponent.

Divide into several teams and attack repeatedly to attract them to fire.

Indeed, I don't believe that Lin Feng still has a lot of gunpowder in his hands.

Even if there are still many, we still have to find a way to destroy the gunpowder he stored, and then those artillery pieces will be useless. "

Deng Zilong nodded and made arrangements.

In the next few days, the cannons rumbling under the Tortoiseshell City, the Ming army and the Spaniards continuously organized small groups of troops to charge under the Tortoiseshell City with what looked like explosive packs, planning to use a large amount of explosives to blow down the city wall. Attracting the pirates on the tower, they kept firing cannons to prevent them from approaching.

After the artillery fire was fired on the Tortoiseshell City, the Ming and Spanish troops below the city also fired back at the top of the city. The three parties continued to fire artillery shells at each other every day.

But no matter what, Lin Feng was the one who suffered the most when he was surrounded in Tortoiseshell City.

The few artillery pieces were scattered and deployed mainly on the north and south walls, and a few artillery pieces were also placed on the east and west sides to prepare for safety. This also caused the artillery on the north and south sides to fire too frequently, and the barrels often overheated and did not dare to fire.

This can only be replaced by pushing the cannon from the side gun position to maintain the continuity of the bombardment.

But this also caused the pirates in the city not only to live on tenterhooks, but also to be extremely tired, and their morale became increasingly low.

The tug-of-war is generally beneficial to the coalition forces. At least because victory is in sight, morale has not been greatly affected.

Although there are casualties every day, when the cannonballs hit the city wall, although the lethality is weaker, as long as they hit a person, even if it is only a scratch, it will almost kill the person.

The coalition forces outside the city could still find some golden sore medicine to survive.

The two sides continued to fight each other until one side was completely discouraged.

"My lord, my lord, there is a situation in the city."

On this day, as soon as Deng Zilong returned to the camp from the coast and sat down, Wang Wanggao, who was in charge of the front line outside, ran into the camp, holding an arrow without an arrow in his hand.

"What's going on in the city?"

Deng Zilong asked.

"Sir, this was handed over by the soldiers when they returned from the attack today. They said someone shot an arrow at them."

Wang Wanggao sent the feather arrow to Deng Zilong. Compared with ordinary feather arrows, this arrow had no arrowhead and a bamboo tube tied to the shaft. It was obviously a feather arrow for sending messages.

"Cum from the city?"

When Deng Zilong saw the arrow, he immediately stretched out his hand to take it, removed the bamboo tube on the arrow shaft, opened it, poured out the letter paper from inside, and carefully read the content on it.

Wang Wanggao on the side also looked at the piece of paper with burning eyes, eager to know the content of the letter.

They were also tired of staying in Luzon. There were continuous artillery battles. Although they did not have any safety concerns, they were still in a bad mood.

In fact, now in the Ming army camp, except for the injured soldiers, most people have more or less thoughts of returning home.

This trip has been too long and they want to go home.

This letter in Deng Zilong's hand may be important information that determines how long they will stay here.

"Sir, does the city want to surrender?"

After Deng Zilong withdrew his gaze, Wang Wanggao walked to him and asked in a low voice.

"Take a look."

Deng Zilong handed the letter to Wang Wangao and asked him to read it himself.

Wang Wanggaoxin came to see it, and the joy on his face could no longer be concealed. He couldn't help but said to Deng Zilong: "Sir, if people like Lin Fengchun and Wu Dacheng are willing to open the city gate and surrender, this battle will be considered won."

"That's what I said, but what if they pretend to surrender?"

Deng Zilong's words instantly extinguished Wang Wanggao's fiery heart.

Fake surrender is also a strategy that appeared frequently in the history of ancient Chinese wars, and it is really necessary to guard against it.

"Then, sir, what should we do? Just ignore it?"

Wang Wanggao was slightly depressed because of the disappointment, but he still felt more regretful.

As for the people in the letter who asked the court to pardon their crimes, they actually had nothing to do with Deng and Wang.

On the battlefield, you can just agree and go back and tell the civil officials.

As for whether the court pardons them in the end, it has nothing to do with them.

But it's easy to deceive them, but if the surrender of a few people is fake, then they will be like meat buns beating dogs when they attack - there will be no return.

Deng Zilong took the letter back, looked at the names of the people on it and said, "I know Lin Fengchun and Xu Yingmei. They are Lin Feng's capable men. Who are Yan Youqian and Wu Dacheng?"

"These two are also the leaders of Lin Feng's pirate group, and they have many people under them."

Wang Wanggao hurriedly replied, "These four people in the letter, I estimate that they control less than a thousand men and horses, which is not far off."

"So, they control a quarter or even more of Lin Feng's troops?"

Deng Zilong was slightly surprised when he heard that the four people who wrote the letter were in charge of so many people in the city.

Regardless of this, if they surrendered sincerely, there would be no obstacles to breaking through the Daimao City.

Holding the letter of surrender in his hand, Deng Zilong felt that it was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Yes, his idea may be related to the life and death of countless people.

Although the coalition forces composed of the Ming army and the Spaniards both regard the capture of the Daimao City as a common goal, it is essential for the Ming Dynasty to have a foothold in Luzon.

In the offensive and defensive battles of these days, Deng Zilong has already taken a fancy to the Daimao City.

Although Lin Feng built the city in a hurry, the defensive facilities that the city should have are still complete, and only simple repairs are needed after the war.

Therefore, it is Deng Zilong's wish to enter the city before the Spaniards and occupy the city.

If there is an insider, it should not be difficult to capture the Daimao City.

But what if they are pretending to surrender?

Undoubtedly, this is a gamble for Deng Zilong.

"Sir, what do you think we should do next?"

Wang Wanggao still stood there, waiting for Deng Zilong's decision.

"I will write a letter. You should shoot into that section of the city wall at four o'clock tonight as the letter says. Then you should pay attention in the next few days to see if they will reply.

If you receive a reply, come to me immediately.

Also tell your men to bring back similar letter arrows if you find them."

Deng Zilong ordered.

After speaking, he returned to his position, ground the ink first, then took out a piece of letter paper and began to write quickly.

Regardless of whether Lin Fengchun, Yan Youqian and others surrendered sincerely, this opportunity must be seized.

Now that the attack on Daimao City has encountered setbacks, a long-term siege can reduce the cost, but it is by no means a good strategy.

The key is that he must occupy Daimao City before the Spaniards, and use it as the base of the Ming army to compete with Manila City.

Pengaslan Bay is actually a good port. Although it is not as good as Manila Bay, it is not much worse. It can be used as a base for the South China Sea Navy in Luzon.

There are also some small bays in the north, which can also be used as military ports and docks for mooring warships.

The only thing Lin Feng lacks here is time.

The defense facilities of the Tortoiseshell City have not been completed, so the defense facilities of the bay are naturally not taken seriously.

This is also the habit of pirates. They are used to the tactics of fighting if they can win and running if they can't win. At most, they arrange some surveillance posts outside the bay, but never think of building artillery to strengthen the defense of the bay.

When the Ming army is completely established here, the first thing the Ming army will build is definitely not the Tortoiseshell City, but the artillery to protect the military port in the bay.

Before the joint fleet entered the bay and bombarded pirate ships recklessly, if Lin Feng had an artillery, even the simplest artillery, the loss would not be so huge.

Deng Zilong didn't say much in the letter, just asking them to show sincerity, that is, when and how to surrender the city.

Regarding the pardon, he only said that he would report the matter.