The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The Spanish treasure fleet refers to the large ships organized by the Spanish Empire from the 16th to the 18th centuries that regularly traveled between Spain and its overseas colonies, transporting European goods to the American colonies and transporting colonial products back to the mother country. Team.

In addition to gold, silver, and precious stones, the transported goods also include spices, tobacco, silk, etc. The Spanish royal family can take one-fifth of the goods.

There are usually two treasure fleets. One is the Caribbean treasure fleet, which travels from Spain to the New World. The main ports include Havana, Veracruz, Portobello, and Cartagena.

The other one runs between the Philippines in Asia and Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico. It is called the Manila Fleet and is responsible for delivering goods from Asia to Mexico.

The goods from Asia are then transported to Veracruz and eventually shipped back to Spain on the Caribbean Treasure Fleet.

The treasure fleet returned carrying huge treasures of gold and silver, which was quite tempting for hostile British, Dutch and French sailors.

Although many people believe that a large number of Spanish transport ships were captured by English or Dutch privateers, in fact only a few ships suffered this fate.

The most famous one was that the Dutchman Piet Hein successfully captured the Spanish treasure fleet in the Battle of Matanzas Bay in 1628 and safely transported the goods back to the Netherlands.

Later, in 1656 and 1657, the Englishman Robert Blake destroyed the fleet in the Battle of Cadiz, but most of the cargo on board had been shipped ashore by the Spanish.

In 1702, the treasure fleet was destroyed again in the Battle of Vigo Bay, but most of the cargo was also safely transported to land by the Spanish.

All of these battles took place in inshore bays, and none took place offshore.

As for the Manila fleet, only four ships were captured in history.

Although battles and storms took their toll, overall the Treasure Fleet remains the most successful major naval operation in history.

Many people only see the rapid rise of Britain and mistakenly think that it grew up with Spanish blood. They mistakenly believe that Britain once plundered a large number of Spanish treasure ships. In fact, these are all misunderstandings.

After 1520, in response to the increasing number of privateering and pirate attacks, Spain decided to organize the scattered transport ships into two large fleets that sailed regularly and equipped them with heavy weapons. The losses have been very small.

By sending regular fleets of ships, Spain effectively controlled trade between its homeland and its colonies.

Under Spanish law, the colonies themselves could only trade with a designated home port.

However, due to smuggling by many Spanish businessmen or businessmen from other countries, the actual number of goods shipped to Spain was much greater than the recorded quantity.

This monopoly lasted for more than two centuries and made Spain the richest country in Europe.

The Spanish Habsburg dynasty used this wealth to wage frequent wars in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its opponents included the Ottoman Empire and most major European countries.

The activities of the treasure fleet also began in 1550 and lasted until the end of the Spanish Bourbon Dynasty in the 18th century.

At this time, Spanish treasure ships had not been robbed by pirates for a long time, especially when they were protected by heavily armed warships.

Yu Dayou was ordered to investigate the activities of Spanish treasure ships in Nanyang. Although he was surprised and somewhat guessed some of Wei Guangde's plans, Yu Dayou would never say anything.

Treasure ship, as you can tell from the name, the things on board must be very valuable.

The merchants who went to sea in the Ming Dynasty were also used to doing business and stealing, so Yu Dayou didn't think there was anything wrong at first.

As for whether you will have other thoughts after thinking about your identity as an officer or soldier, that is another matter.

"You and Qi Jiguang know each other, have you discussed the loading matter?"

After talking about the Nanyang Navy, Wei Guangde's attention turned to this military operation.

"After our fleet arrived at Tianjin the day before yesterday, we met him and learned about the soldiers and equipment that needed to be loaded.

In the past three days, the fleet's cargo was adjusted, and 200,000 stone grains were transferred to the Jinmen grain storage. The remaining grains went to Gaizhou with the army. "

Yu Dayou replied.

"When can we leave?"

Wei Guangde was more concerned about this, so he asked directly.

"The unloading of the grain should be completed today. At the same time, some equipment will also start to be loaded on the ship in the next two days. The army should be able to board the ship and go to sea tomorrow. I don't know if Mr. Ge has any other instructions."

Yu Dayou asked respectfully.

"I came here this time. Firstly, I haven't seen you for a long time, so I came to see you and also to ask about the situation of the Nanyang Navy in person.

The second is to take a look at the army prepared by Qi Jiguang. You should have made some guesses in private when he was transferred to Liaodong this time. "

When Wei Guangde said this, he saw Yu Dayou nodding slightly, so he continued: 'You are all military generals with outstanding achievements in the Ming Dynasty. You should be familiar with marching and fighting.

This time, it was really the imperial court that wanted to take action against the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong. ’

Wei Guangde then analyzed the situation in Liaodong and Yu Dayou. At this time, Yu Dayou heard about the fiasco of Changdian Fort for the first time.

I was also extremely shocked to hear that the imperial guerrilla general had been killed and his troops suffered thousands of casualties.

Attacking and killing imperial officers and soldiers, no matter what they have done, is committing rebellion in this era.

In fact, in any era, it is a serious crime of rebellion for civilians to attack and kill officers and soldiers.

As for what the officers and soldiers have done, in the court's view, they have their own national laws to punish them, and it is not the people's turn to make the decision.

“Originally, I wanted to completely drive the Liaodong Jurchen tribe further north, out of sight but out of mind.

However, there are also many Jurchen tribes that sincerely surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Whether in Liaodong or in the court, many people do not want to do things too badly, saying that God has the virtue of good life.

Dayou, tell me, how should I do this? "

Wei Guangde really wanted to hear the thoughts of Yu Dayou and even Qi Jiguang to see if they had plans to completely eliminate the Jurchen tribe.

When Yu Dayou heard Wei Guangde's question, he lowered his head to think. After a while, he raised his head and said, "Have you ever heard that Liaodong is a vast land with few people?"

“Indeed, the environment in that place is harsh, comparable to that of the desert.

Although our Ming Dynasty has been running Liaodong for more than a hundred years, most of the population is concentrated in the southeast of Liaoning, and the population in the north is very small. "

Wei Guangde replied.

"Then why does the imperial court allow the territory to expand eight hundred miles north? Since it is a tasteless thing."

Yu Dayou obviously didn't understand why the cabinet was so determined to open up new territories. He knew clearly that the Northern Expansion Council and Wang Gao were enemies and war was inevitable, but he still chose to do so.

You know, as far as the current situation is known, the land is of no use at all.

"Hehehe"

When Wei Guangde heard Yu Dayou's doubts, he finally realized that he and Zhang Juzheng seemed to have made big mistakes before.

Zhang Juzheng only thought of the credit for opening up territory, and he thought of using this strategy to start a war with the Jurchens and drive the Jurchen tribe north, but he did not consider whether it was really necessary to build Kuandian Six Forts in the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

If this policy is aimed at the cage policy of Wang Gao's tribe and traps him to death, it is actually better to send troops to attack Wang Gao directly.

After all, it is already recognized by all the Liaodong ministries that Wang Gao's tribe attacked and killed the Ming Dynasty border troops many times, so there is no need for a reason to destroy him.

Instead of expanding Kuandian Liubao to block Wang Gao's southbound passage, it seems more worry-free to launch a direct attack.

The current troops and horses in Liaodong are far stronger than those of the Jurchen tribes.

Even if all the Jurchen tribes unite, the attack will only take a little effort. The court needs to dispatch more troops and prepare more war materials.

"Li Chengliang is really good."

Wei Guangde was not angry, but sighed.

"In fact, as long as Wang Gao's tribe is eliminated and the army is stationed in Wang Gao's walled city, the imperial court will naturally complete the strategy of marching north. There is no need to build the Six Kuandian Forts. Li Chengliang's plan is inherently problematic."

Yu Dayou said.

"He wants to make enemies in Liaodong and raise the bandits to respect themselves."

Wei Guangde uttered a few words in his mouth, and Yu Dayou immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak.

As for Deng Zilong, who was at the bottom, he didn't dare to say anything at the moment. He couldn't say anything about this.

"It seems that I wanted to transfer him to Datong to replace Ma Fang, but it seems that I have no choice."

Wei Guangde finally continued, "If he goes to Datong, I'm afraid An Dahan will rebel again the next day."

It can only be said that Li Chengliang's plan to build Kuandian Six Forts happened to hit the weakness of Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde.

Zhang Juzheng wanted to do something as soon as possible to enhance his prestige and surpass Gao Gong among the courtiers as soon as possible, so that people would no longer want him to come back.

Expanding territory, is there any better way to increase prestige than this?

No.

When Wei Guangde heard about this plan, because it was a strategy against Wang Gao of the Jurchen tribe in Jianzhou, he naturally only considered taking this opportunity to eradicate Liaodong in the north and not leave the Ming Dynasty with the hidden danger of subjugation.

Li Chengliang's mistake prevented him and Zhang Juzheng from seeing through his plan, and they all fell into the trap at once.

However, as things have developed now, the battle in Liaodong must be fought, otherwise the court will lose face.

It's just that Wei Guangde now feels that the tricky thing is how to place Li Chengliang after the war. This person is a troublemaker and a troublemaker.

The north has finally formed a peaceful situation that has not been seen for many years, and Wei Guangde does not intend to destroy this hard-won peace.

The border residents in the north were often harassed by captive cavalry, and their lives were already difficult.

If the war resumes because of Li Chengliang, it seems that it will not be a blessing to the world.

However, if Li Chengliang was transferred back to the capital after the Liaodong war to idle, it would also have an impact on the court's prestige.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of Southwest.

To say that the north of the Ming Dynasty is generally peaceful, that is to say, there are still chieftains in the southwest from time to time, and in Yunnan News, the situation in Myanmar is unstable.

However, Yunnan's briefing was many years ago. The chaos in Myanmar seemed to be calming down, and it had not been reported to the capital for a long time.

Wei Guangde still had an impression of this. He had a good memory. He had read a lot of documents in the Hanlin Academy, and two of them were still fresh in his memory.

First, in the ninth year of Jiajing, Liu Gao, the Yunnan censor at the time, once presented a memorial stating the disadvantages of purchasing gems, exposing Meng Mi’s gem trade with the Portuguese “Western Ships”, and also criticized Meng Mi’s “excessive behavior” when purchasing gems in previous years. Therefore, it is illegal to act late”.

The key is that at that time, he had already learned through communication with the Burmese people that a new dynasty was rising in Burma and was conquering cities and territories to increase its strength.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty also purchased gems from him, which undoubtedly helped to increase his economic strength, allowing him to send troops to seize territory and provide military expenses.

Ming Dynasty's foreign policy has always been to maintain the status quo and avoid major military conflicts.

But in fact, Ming's order was nothing more than a piece of paper in Myanmar.

In the sixth year of Jiajing, Silun, the son of Silu, the lord of Mengyang, joined forces with Hanlie, the lord of Mubang, and Meng Miguo to capture the city of Ava. They killed the king of Ava, Mang Jisui, his wife and children, and established his clan Mang Buxin as Awa. King Wa, the three kingdoms occupied the land of Ava.

Therefore, the Ava State sent an envoy to Yunnan to cry out to the local government of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Chief Envoy of Yunnan did not report the matter to Beijing in time.

Although later, the Ming Dynasty sent Yongchang prefect Yan Shitai and Wei commander Wang Xun to the local area to investigate the actual situation.

As a result, Silun heard the news and sent troops to the post house where the Ming army stayed temporarily at night to make a noise and cause trouble. They burned the post house and killed Cao Yi, a thousand households with gold medals. Yan Shitai and other forces fled back to Yunnan in a hurry.

At this time, due to the Anfeng Rebellion, the Ming Dynasty had no time to pursue further investigations. Since then, its prestige in Myanmar has greatly diminished, paving the way for greater disasters in the future.

In the seventh year of Jiajing's reign, Yunnan Commander-in-Chief Mu Shaoxun and Governor Ouyang Zhong sent political advisor Wang Ruzhou and others to Burma again to visit chieftains from all sides and advise them to cease their troops and cease war, and not to disobey the Ming Dynasty's orders.

At this time, Meng Yangguo, Silun and others did not want to make the relationship with the Ming Dynasty worse. They were each willing to pay tribute to ivory, brocade, gold and silverware and other items, and were willing to return the land they had seized, and felt repentant for their mistakes. .

However, the territorial dispute remains unresolved and war may still break out in the future.

Yunnan reported to Beijing that they hoped to allocate 13 wide areas such as Man Mo, which caused the most serious troubles and the Ming Dynasty could not afford to garrison for a long time, to Meng Mi. They asked for a payment of one thousand taels of silver every year, and because of Mubang's dissatisfaction , and the seven places including Meng Nai were ceded to Hanlie, the leader of Mu State.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty, as the suzerain state, temporarily settled the dispute at the expense of its own interests in order to maintain the peace of the vassal state.

Wei Guangde was surprised when he saw these documents and could not understand the purpose of Mu Shaoxun and Ouyang Zhong at all.

Even if there was a war between vassal states, there was no need for the Ming Dynasty to promote so-called peace in its own interests.

The key is that through this incident, all forces in Myanmar have looked down upon the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty's influence on the states in Myanmar has dropped to a freezing point.

In fact, if Ming Dynasty continued to pay attention to the situation in Myanmar at this time, he would know that the Dongwu Dynasty of Myanmar was born in the second year after this incident.

The so-called Dongwu Dynasty was actually the Taungoo Dynasty of Myanmar, which had many fierce battles with the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Beginning in the 14th year of Jiajing, King Mang Ruiti of Dongwu began to attack the Baigu Dynasty, and then destroyed the Baigu Dynasty, and then captured the foreign trade ports of Maduba and Beimai.

In the 30th year of Jiajing, after Mang Ruiti died, Mang Yinglong succeeded to the throne. He destroyed the Ava dynasty, conquered the Shan states, and completed the second unification of Myanmar.

At this time, Mang Yinglong's goal of eastward expansion was already aimed at the Ming Dynasty. After breaking through the Royal City of Siam a few years ago, there was actually no more land around Myanmar that could be encroached on. (End of chapter)