In the late Ming Dynasty, the Philippine Islands were not directly under the Spanish mainland, but were managed as a province of New Spain (i.e. Mexico). In May of the eighth year of Chongzhen, Coquela arrived in Manila and officially became the governor of the Philippines.

Coquera's experience was quite complicated. He once fought with local "monkeys" in Flanders and Peru, and later promoted to the Governor of Panama. Now, he has gone to the Philippines and dealt with the Moroe pirates, Dutch, Portuguese and English.

The situation in Southeast Asia is relatively complicated. Multiple forces are entangled together and cannot be broken down. It is even more chaotic than a bunch of messes. First of all, there is the conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain. Since the 30th year of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty has almost fought wars with Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and England, and has won without exception. Is this still the late Ming Dynasty with a weaker day?

Recently, the Portuguese who had a conflict with the Ming Dynasty were the most tragic. After years of operation, the Portuguese formed two golden trade routes, one was Guangzhou-Macao-Nazaki, and the other was Guangzhou-Macao-Malacca-Goa (Lisbon). However, after Lin Chunhong forcibly occupied Macau, Portugal's dominant position was seriously provoked and it was quite intent to assemble a fleet to retake Macau.

Secondly, the conflict between Portugal and the Netherlands. Portugal's decline was very fast, which naturally caused the covetousness of sea coachmen. In order to obtain Malacca and Goa, the Dutch East India Company once sent a fleet to blockade Malacca and Goa. The two sides were in constant confrontations and the conflict was expanding.

In addition, it is the conflict between Spain and the Netherlands. The Netherlands' momentum in the South China Sea is quite aggressive, so naturally it will not let Luzon go. The two sides once fought each other. The Netherlands once sent more than ten warships to block Manila. Spain only sent two warships to fight. The result was shocking. Spain defeated the Netherlands! It can be seen that the Spanish fleet is quite strong!

As for the English, they are still in the stage of beating the side drums, and they only occasionally send a fleet to Nanyang to sway.

When Koquera was still serving as the Governor of Panama, he had heard about the situation in Southeast Asia. After arriving in Manila, he worked hard to understand the situation and was confident that he would defend this overseas colony for His Majesty the King.

According to the "Toldesylias Agreement", it was impossible for Spain to cross the Strait of Malacca to return to Europe, so it had to establish the Manila-Acapulco (Europe) route, transporting a large amount of silver from Mexico to exchange for Chinese commodities such as raw silk, silk fabrics, cotton cloth. However, Spain is currently in a strategic contraction stage, and His Majesty the King implemented a trade restriction policy, which led to a decline in the value of this route.

More importantly, Mexico's silver production has dropped sharply, resulting in the decrease in the number of merchant ships in Manila.

Of course, Koquela knew all about these situations. He believed that as long as he devoted his energy to destroying the Moro pirates on Mindanao and the Sulu Islands, he could ensure the safety of Luzon. The position of governor was relaxed and comfortable.

However, God made a joke with him.

Less than a month after taking office, he heard that Lin Chunhong, the Guangdong general of the Ming Empire, announced aggressively: "Nanyang is the South Ocean of the Ming Dynasty, and no one outside the Ming Dynasty is allowed to be involved."

Koquela was a little gloating at that time. After all, the Netherlands is the first force in Southeast Asia today. He hoped that the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty would be indisputable, and then the Spanish fisherman would benefit. However, less than a day after he was proud, Lin Chunhong announced that he would attack Luzon Island within two years!

"Oh, my God, are the people of the Ming Dynasty so arrogant?"

After hearing Lin Chunhong's arrogant words, Koquila's first impression of Lin Chunhong was "arrogance and ignorance". Koquila knew the strength of Lin Chunhong's fleet very well and knew that there were seven warships under his command, including 40 eighteen-pound cannons of the Fujia. With such a fleet size and strength, Koquila made a direct judgment: vulnerable!

However, what made Koquela even more amused was that another deputy general of Fujian, Zheng Zhilong, also announced that he would attack Luzon Island.

"Oh, my God, forgive these savages for their arrogance and ignorance!"

Coquera rowed the cross and muttered in a merciful tone, "My God, can their ships reach Manila?"

So, Koquela ignored the Ming Dynasty's dynamics and turned his attention to the Moro pirates entrenched in the southern Philippines. He sent 800 troops to attack Basilan Island, and won a complete victory and was welcomed by a heroic triumphal ceremony.

At the same time, in order to reduce military expenditure, he also recruited three local soldiers from the regiment to serve the Governor's Office.

After doing these two things, Koquela was proud and thought she could sit steadily and wait for the next promotion. Unexpectedly, Lin Chunhong deliberately did not let him feel relieved and built a three-deck battleship with a total number of artillery reaching 96. He also showed his power at the mouth of Honghekou in Annan, destroying the Bala Fort within an hour!

Coquera couldn't sit still!

He immediately sent someone to learn about Lin Chunhong's shipbuilding and artillery casting. A month later, the news sent back from Guangzhou almost caused him to collapse. There were three three-layer deck warships built at the dock of the Changzhou Shipbuilding Workshop!

Moreover, Koquera's spies also learned that iron ore transported from Qiongzhou Prefecture to Guangzhou is constantly coming. According to the amount of iron ore transported, it should not be a problem to produce twenty heavy artillery per month!

Four three-deck warships! Three hundred and eighty-eight heavy artillery! Koquela was scared. The Philippine fleet he used to be proud of is now so weak in his opinion. How can he resist Lin Chunhong by relying solely on these warships?

Koquela is worthy of being the outstanding military leader of Spain. After thinking for a while, various countermeasures came into being and started to operate like flowing water. First, he wrote a letter to His Majesty the King of Spain, reported his knowledge in detail, and spoke highly of the threat from the Ming Dynasty, asking the local Spanish mainland to support the Philippines.

In addition, he wrote a letter to the Governor of Goa, Portugal and the Governor of the East India Company of the Netherlands, stating that "South Ocean is the South Ocean of the Ming Dynasty" was the harm of the two countries, hoping that the three countries would abandon their past grudges in South China and jointly respond to Lin Chunhong's threat.

Finally, he issued an order to his subordinates: "Immediately, the Manila shipyard will build a large number of small fire ships and give full play to the advantages of offshore combat!"

The subordinate was very confused and couldn't help but reminded: "Dear Governor, building a fire ship is not a problem. The problem is, who will control it after it is built?" What the subordinate was talking about is the truth. Except for the Philippine fleet, there were no more than 4,000 Spaniards on the shore, so how could so many people control the fire ship?

Koquela was stunned, then roared in anger: "Recruit local soldiers! Start recruiting for me immediately, and train now!"

The subordinate shrugged and said "Yes" reluctantly. When he stepped back, he kept muttering in his heart: Is the fire boat useful? If those monkeys learn to control the boat, the sows may have climbed the tree too!

...

While Koquera was in a state of turmoil, Lin Chunhong was listening to a report on the situation in Nanyang.

The report of Ling Yunhua, director of the Navy Military Intelligence Department, seemed extremely long, and he was so dry that he was dry. After drinking three cups of tea in succession, he still felt extremely thirsty.

Finally, Ling Yunhua closed the spread report and said, "In short, Nanyang is in chaos. When all parties fight against each other, the only line is interests!"

Lin Chunhong praised: "It's very detailed and very well said. Yes, the operators behind it are all beneficial!"

Lin Chunhong took a sip of tea and continued: "After all the time, the chaos in Southeast Asia is a little messy, but it's not a clue! In my opinion, as long as you grasp two focuses here, you can clarify the situation in Southeast Asia!"

"The first focus is the source of goods. To put it bluntly, it is the source of raw silk or silk fabrics! Whether it is for the Japanese trade route or the Europa trade route, raw silk and silk fabrics have the highest profits. Why have Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands been attacking the Ming Dynasty over the years? In addition to the covetousness of these Westerners for the Ming Dynasty, expanding the source of raw silk is the most important reason!"

"It can be said that whoever can obtain the exclusive trade rights of the Ming Dynasty will dominate in Southeast Asia! Portugal's power is extremely weak, but it can gain a position in Southeast Asia, which is closely related to Macau's unique status! Portugal knows that it can't beat us and faces the threat of the Dutch, but it is ready to try to retake Macau. This is the reason!"

Ling Yunhua reacted very quickly, and thought for a little while, saying, "The military gate means that if we intervene in Nanyang, the prospects are very broad, because we can control the source of raw silk without any trouble!"

Lin Chunhong said: "Yes! However, there is another competitor at present, which is Zheng Zhilong. Moreover, Zheng Zhilong's conditions are better than ours. He has a close relationship with the officials and gentry in Jiangnan and has received their secret support!"

Ling Yunhua nodded silently. As the head of the Military Intelligence Department, he knew the relationship between Zheng Zhilong and the officials and gentry in Jiangnan.

Lin Chunhong continued: "The second focus is on the Strait of Malacca! If we do not intervene in the South China Sea, I estimate that Portugal and the Netherlands will have a fierce battle, and the purpose of the war is to compete for the Strait of Malacca! The Netherlands is currently known as the "sea coachman" and is very powerful. He will never let go of Malacca, a strategic location. Although Portugal is in a dilemma, it will never give up Malacca. Before his death, it will have a desperate struggle!"

"Now, we are involved in the South China Sea. It is hard to say whether Portugal and the Netherlands can fight. What I worry most is that Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, and even the Englishmen join forces to deal with us in the South China Sea!"

Ling Yunhua frowned slightly and reminded: "We should be careful that Zheng Zhilong is anxious to jump over the wall and join forces with the Westerners to deal with us!"

Lin Chunhong's eyes showed a look of approval and said, "Yes, so we cannot force Zheng Zhilong to be too hasty at the moment, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable! For the time being, we can only share the benefits of the ocean with Zheng Zhilong, and then turn back to solve Zheng Zhilong after controlling the Strait of Malacca!"
Chapter completed!