Chapter 1319 Impossible Mission

To be fair, Aragones is right to regard Sanya as the primary target of this wave of attacks. If Manila wants to start a full-scale war with Haihan, it will undoubtedly be asking for trouble. Even if the Spanish Empire is known as maritime in the world

It is a powerful country, but if it comes down to the South China Sea, the colonial government in Manila is still not as strong as the newly emerged Haihan State in terms of military strength. If it really starts a big fight, the Manila authorities may not even have 50% confidence.

What's more, at the end of the year before last, Haihan also enlisted a large group of countries to form a paramilitary alliance in the South China Sea under the name of a trade alliance. Among the member states, there were only Annan Champa and his like, but Portugal and the Netherlands were very important to the Manila authorities.

A feared opponent. Although Portugal is still a vassal state of Spain in name, the Portuguese will not treat Spain as a sovereign state overseas. If there is a chance to add insult to injury, Aragones has no doubt that the Portuguese will do it to him.

Ruthless hand, there is no such thing as friendship between the two countries.

Not to mention the Dutch. If those red-haired ghosts knew that Spain was going to war with Haihan, they would probably participate at their own expense to help Haihan fight against Spain. Although the Manila authorities were not afraid of the Dutch East India Company,

But I don’t want it to be Haihan’s help.

Cross-sea operations have extremely high requirements for logistical supplies, and the Spanish fleet does not have much advantage in this regard. On the contrary, Haihan, who is at home, can rely on Hainan Island to deal with the Spanish fleet once the battle situation is stabilized.

At that time, even if the Spanish fleet, which is based thousands of miles away, gains some early advantages, it will be difficult to fight the Hainan Army on Hainan Island for a long time. If it retreats to Manila in despair because of supply problems, it might as well simply

Don't go on this trip.

Aragones did not want to leave any opportunity to his Western competitors. His tactical design was to directly destroy Haihan's center before everyone could react. Only in this way could it be possible to avoid falling into a protracted war.

But the actual difficulty of executing this tactic is not as easy as what he imagined. Sanya, the capital of Haihan, is the center of the country and one of the most prosperous trading ports in the South China Sea. Its defense methods are also quite complete. The Spanish fleet wants to invade Sanya city.

, is not an easy goal to achieve.

In the past two years, information has been continuously transmitted back to Manila through intelligence personnel. Aragones and the military generals also have a general understanding of the defensive measures deployed by Haihan at the two main ports in Sanya, allowing the fleet to withstand the coastal defense artillery and Haihan.

It is indeed a bit risky for the navy's firepower to rush to the port. But if the Spanish fleet does not enter the port, the substantial damage it can cause to Haihan will be limited, and the combat intention will not be fully realized. In the process of formulating specific tactics,

This contradiction has become the biggest problem plaguing the Manila authorities.

But Aragones has made up his mind. This battle must be fought, and the combat objectives must be clear. He cannot go all the way to Sanya to just take a tour and show off his muscles and then come back. Either destroy Sanya or annihilate the local Haihan Navy.

As the main force, one of the two must be realized. Of course, if the latter can be realized, then it is probably a matter of course to win Sanya.

Aragones handed over this task to his two most trusted officers, one was Juan Luis, the commander of the Manila Armed Fleet, and the other was João Pinto, the commander of the American Galleon Fleet.

Both of them have made outstanding military exploits in the areas where they served, and have received awards from the domestic royal family more than once.

Of course, their main opponents are naturally not strong men like the Haihan Army, but the indigenous people in the colonial areas, who are still stuck in the primitive era of slash-and-burn farming and hunting and picking fruits. In addition, there are also fellow colonists from Europe, who are also Spanish

The main combat target of armed sailing ships has been fought more or less in tough battles.

The two fleets combined can form about forty combat ships, plus nearly twenty comprehensive supply ships transporting armed personnel and supplies, which can be said to be a large fleet.

.Among the ships belonging to the American Fleet, there are as many as eight large ships with a displacement of more than 500 tons. Each ship is equipped with more than 20 artillery pieces. This is also an armed force that Aragones has high hopes for.

.

Although the Haihan Fleet is famous, according to the information obtained by Aragones, its fleet size is generally only a dozen warships, and warships with a tonnage of more than 1,000 tons often only have one or two in a fleet.

That's it. Although it is said that the Haihan battleship's gunfire is fierce, Aragones and the two fleet commanders believe that this is an exaggeration, and even if it is fierce, it should not be able to match the armed strength of the Spanish fleet. After all, no matter it is

In terms of total tonnage or number of ships, Spain seems to have a clear advantage.

It only took more than a month from the time when Aragones finalized the action plan to when the two fleets completed preparations and assembled and set off. This was considered a very fast response in the history of the Spanish fleet. However, such preparations

The efficiency is also because Aragones knows very well that the movements of the fleet cannot be hidden from everyone, and Manila is not a pure land. If there are no Haihan spies in this city with a large proportion of Chinese, he will never believe it. Once the other party's

If the spies notice that the Spanish fleet docked in Manila Bay has made some moves, they will definitely try to send the news back to Hainan Island. However, the official has no effective way to stop such methods, unless the seaport is completely blocked one month in advance and no ships are allowed to enter or exit.

But this is obviously impossible. If the preparation time is not shortened, it will be equivalent to exposing one's action plan in advance.

Even so, Aragones is still a little worried about whether his own movements will be noticed by the Haihan people in advance, but now that the arrow is on the string, he has to take action. Even if the news leaks out, he can only hope that his fleet can move fast enough.

, you can attack the Haihan people at their doorstep before they can react.

The two commanders, Luis and Pinto, naturally knew the importance of racing against time. Therefore, after quietly setting off from Manila Bay one early morning, the fleet traveled at full speed all the way, heading straight west to the target area. All during the voyage

A little bit of time gained may be turned into victory on the battlefield.

This large fleet of nearly 60 sailing ships went to Hainan Island, which can be said to be the largest military operation taken by Spain in the Far East in recent years. Aragones hoped to use this operation to save Spain's deteriorating situation in the Far East, and the two

The commanders also have high hopes for this operation. If they can successfully defeat the Haihan Army and attack the Sanya Port City, then this achievement will be enough for them to be commended by the royal family, and they may even be awarded a knighthood for it - Ala

Goness has promised them that after victory, he will use all his domestic connections to ask for credit from the royal family for them.

Relying on military merit to enter the ranks of the nobility is a great honor for the two commanders. Even for this reward, they have to risk their lives to give it a try. Although the Haihan Army is invincible in legend,

This is a majestic Spanish fleet, an elite maritime force that can cross oceans and open up overseas colonies for the Spanish Empire! Before a real fight, the two commanders did not think that their chances of winning were too small. If they could defeat Haihan, then

He really became famous in one battle.

However, due to the different speeds of the ships in the fleet, although it is said to be moving at full speed, it is actually only at the "full speed" of the slower supply ships and troop transport ships, and the daily sailing mileage is only about 130 to 40 nautical miles.

Although the two commanders were worried, they did not dare to order the abandonment of the baggage troops. They could only slow down the sail warship to maintain the integrity of the fleet.

At dawn on the fifth day after setting off from Manila, the lookout on the mast conveyed a piece of news that was unclear whether it was good or bad. Several light sailing ships of the same standard appeared on the nearby sea, sailing toward them at intervals of three to four nautical miles.

They are advancing hand in hand from the east. Just from their formation, it is not difficult to judge that these ships seem to be searching for some target on the sea. Although these light sailing ships do not fly any flags that can identify themselves, sailors who are familiar with Haihan have identified them.

This kind of sailboat should have been built by Haihan, and its unique sail shape makes it easy to identify it at a glance.

Pinto, the commander of the American fleet who was leading the sailboat in front, was the first to get the news. After he heard that the visitor was the Haihan sailboat, he realized something was wrong. He would not regard this encounter at sea as a coincidence, even if

Really, he must not let these Haihan-registered sailing ships leave safely, lest they expose the fleet's whereabouts, and they can also be used to train troops and warm up their men for the upcoming naval battle.

Pinto immediately issued a combat order, requiring the fleet to encircle and suppress several light sailing ships that appeared on the sea. After the signal flag was hoisted on the flagship, the leading sailing ships immediately adjusted their course and faced the several light sailing ships to the west.

However, these unidentified light sailing ships were obviously wary of the Spanish fleet. As soon as they adjusted their course, several light sailing ships on the opposite side immediately turned their heads to the north, obviously aware of Spain's intentions.

In this case, Pinto had no other choice and immediately ordered a pursuit. However, the Spanish crew soon discovered that the large sailing ship they were proud of did not show an obvious advantage in speed.

It seems that the distance between them and the target has not been shortened. Moreover, the control of these light sailing ships is obviously more flexible. They are constantly changing their courses as they flee north, leading the Spanish sailing ships to speed on the sea like flying kites.

The fleet pursued for more than half an hour, but there was still no sign of being able to capture the opponent. Moreover, judging from the opponent's constant changing of course, it was obvious that he still had some remaining strength and deliberately took them for a spin on the sea. Pinto had to announce that he had given up the pursuit.

, even if we pursue like this for a hundred or two hundred nautical miles, we may not be able to catch these light sailing boats that are as slippery as fish. Legend has it that the maneuverability of Haihan sailing boats is extremely good at sea, and Pinto can be regarded as seeing this today.

Guys, the absolute speed of these light sailing boats is obviously faster than our own sailing boats. It is difficult to catch them just following them.

Pinto decisively gave up the pursuit and commanded the fleet to return to the correct route. At the same time, he sent a flag message to the Manila fleet that came later, explaining what had just happened. Although this episode made Pinto feel a little embarrassed,

But at the moment, the mission of raiding Sanya is more important, and we can't waste too much time on these damn flies on the way.

But not long after, not only Pinto, but also the crew of the Manila fleet discovered that things were not that simple. Several light sailing ships that they had chased before turned back from a distance, and they were separated from the Spanish at a distance of five or six nautical miles.

The fleet sailed parallel to the west. It was obvious that these ships had abandoned their original course and wanted to monitor the movements of the Spanish fleet at a close distance.

Pinto once again sent out several ships to expel them, but these light sailing ships only moved the distance slightly, but did not give up tracking and monitoring the Spanish fleet. After repeating this several times, Pinto could only

Can give up the plan to completely drive them out of sight.

After this scene lasted for several hours, the ships were still following them like gangrene, and the two Spanish commanders had an ominous omen in their hearts. These ships were suspected to belong to Haihan.

So bold, I'm afraid they can't be private ships. They didn't even rush back to Hainan Island to report the news. They just followed along a few nautical miles away in such a leisurely manner. They definitely didn't have any good intentions. Just watching.

With the size and tonnage of these ships, it is impossible for them to come forward to challenge the Spanish fleet. What is their purpose?

Luis, the commander of the Manila fleet, suddenly remembered a rumor about Haihan. It is said that the Haihan people have mastered a unique skill similar to magic or witchcraft, and can transmit information instantly across hundreds or even thousands of miles. This is what the Haihan people use.

With this skill, he maintains close contact with overseas colonies, and also applies it to battlefield command, allowing commanders to freely mobilize troops outside their field of vision.

The authenticity of this rumor of course needs to be verified, but if the Haihan people can use this skill at sea, then they have probably managed to transmit the traces of their fleet back to the base camp. Once this assumption is established, the consequences will be quite terrifying. I am now

The destination he was rushing to was most likely the maritime cemetery that the Haihan people had arranged. Thinking of this terrible consequence, Louis quickly ordered someone to send a signal to Pinto's flagship, asking him to stop advancing and try to meet for discussion.

Let’s talk about the next action.
Chapter completed!