Chapter 924 1013 Zhang Wei Falls Into the Trap

The Spanish treasure fleet refers to a large fleet organized by the Spanish Empire from the 16th to the 18th century, which regularly traveled between Spain and its overseas colonies, transporting European goods to the American colonies and returning colonial products to the mother country.

In addition to gold, silver, and gemstones, the transported goods also included spices, tobacco, silk, etc., and the Spanish royal family could take one-fifth of the goods.

The treasure fleet usually consists of two groups, one is the Caribbean treasure fleet, which travels from Spain to the New World of America, and the main ports of call include Havana, Veracruz, Portobello, and Cartagena.

The other group travels between the Philippines in Asia and Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico, known as the Manila Fleet, responsible for delivering Asian goods to Mexico.

Afterwards, the goods from Asia will be transported to Veracruz and eventually transported back to Spain by the Caribbean treasure fleet.

The treasure fleet carries huge amounts of gold and silver treasures on the return journey, which is quite tempting for the hostile sailors of Britain, the Netherlands, and France.

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 the Dutchman Piet Hein's successful capture of the Spanish treasure fleet in the Battle of Matanzas Bay in 1628 and the safe transport of the cargo 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 was transported 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 coastal bays, and none took place in the open sea.

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

Although there were some losses due to battles and storms, overall, the treasure fleet is still the most successful large-scale naval operation in history.

Many people only see the rapid rise of Britain and mistakenly believe that it grew up by absorbing Spanish blood, and mistakenly believe that Britain had plundered Spanish treasure ships in large quantities. In fact, these are all misunderstandings.

After 1520, in order to deal with the increasing 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, and the losses were very small.

By sending regular fleets, Spain actually controlled the trade between the mainland and the colonies.

Under Spanish law, the colonies themselves can only trade with a designated mainland port.

But because many Spanish merchants or merchants from other countries engaged in smuggling, the actual amount of goods shipped to Spain was far more than the number recorded.

Such a monopoly lasted for more than two centuries, making Spain the richest country in Europe.

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

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

At this time, the Spanish treasure ship had not been robbed by pirates for a long time, especially when it was protected by heavily armed warships.

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

Treasure ship, as the name suggests, must have valuable things on board.

Merchants who went to sea in the Ming Dynasty were also used to being both merchants and pirates, so Yu Dayou did not think there was anything wrong at the first time.

As for whether he would have other ideas later when he thought of his identity as an official soldier, that was another matter.

"You know Qi Jiguang, have you discussed the loading?"

After talking about the Nanyang Navy, Wei Guangde shifted his attention to this military operation.

"After my fleet arrived in Tianjin the day before yesterday, I met him and learned about the soldiers and equipment that needed to be loaded.

In the past three days, we have been adjusting the cargo of the fleet, transferring 200,000 shi of grain to the Tianjin grain storage, and the remaining grain will go to Gaizhou with the army."

Yu Dayou replied.

"When can we set off?"

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

"The unloading of grain should be completed today, and some equipment will also start loading in the next two days. The army should be able to board the ship and go to sea tomorrow. I wonder if the old man has any other instructions."

Yu Dayou asked respectfully.

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

The second is to see the army prepared by Qi Jiguang. This time I was transferred to Liaodong, you should have guessed it privately."

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

This time, the imperial court really wants to take action against the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong. ’

Wei Guangde then analyzed the situation in Liaodong with Yu Dayou. It was then that Yu Dayou first heard about the disastrous defeat at Changdian Fort.

Hearing that the imperial guerrilla general was killed and his troops suffered thousands of casualties, he was also extremely shocked.

Attacking and killing the imperial army, no matter what they have done, is a rebellion in this era.

In fact, in any era, civilians attacking and killing the imperial army is a serious crime of rebellion.

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 it is 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"

Wei Guangde finally woke up after hearing Yu Dayou's doubts. 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. However, 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 moving 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, so as not to leave the hidden danger of the Ming Dynasty's 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, 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 in Burma was rising at this time 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, the order of the Ming Dynasty was nothing but a piece of paper in Myanmar.

In the sixth year of Jiajing, Silun, the son of Silu, the ruler of Mengyang, joined hands with Hanlie, the ruler of Mubang, and Mengmi to capture the city of Ava, killed the king of Ava, Mang Jisui, his wife and children, and established his clan Mang Buxin as the king of Ava. The three countries divided the land of Ava.

So, the Ava Kingdom sent envoys to Yunnan to cry to the local government of the Ming Dynasty, but the Yunnan Provincial Administration Commissioner did not report the matter to Beijing in time.

Although later, the Ming Dynasty sent Yan Shitai, the prefect of Yongchang, and Wang Xun, the commander of the guards, to investigate the facts.

As a result, Silun heard the news and sent troops to the posthouse where the Ming army stayed temporarily at night to make a commotion, and burned the posthouse, killing Cao Yi, the thousand households with gold medals. Yan Shitai and others were alone and fled back to Yunnan in a hurry.

At this time, because of the Anfeng Rebellion, the Ming Dynasty had no time to further investigate, and its prestige in Myanmar greatly declined, laying the groundwork for greater disasters in the future.

In the seventh year of Jiajing, Yunnan's general Mu Shaoxun and governor Ouyang Zhong sent Wang Ruzhou and others to Myanmar again to visit the chieftains of various parties and persuade them to stop fighting and not to disobey the orders of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Meng Yangguo Silun and others did not want to make the relationship with the Ming Dynasty worse. They were willing to pay tribute to ivory, local brocade, gold and silver wares, and were willing to return the land they had seized and repent for their mistakes.

However, the territorial dispute was still unresolved and wars could still break out in the future.

Yunnan reported to Beijing, hoping to divide thirteen wide areas such as Manmo, which caused the most serious troubles and the Ming Dynasty was unable to station troops for a long time, to Mengmi, and asked to pay 1,000 taels of silver every year. Because of Mubang's dissatisfaction, seven places such as Mengnai were ceded to Hanlie, the king of Mubang.

So far, as the suzerain state, the Ming Dynasty temporarily calmed the dispute at the expense of its own interests in order to maintain peace in the vassal state.

When Wei Guangde saw these documents, he was very surprised and could not understand the purpose of Mu Shaoxun and Ouyang Chong doing so.

Even if the vassal states fought, the Ming Dynasty had no need to promote the so-called peace at its own expense.

The key is that through this incident, the various forces in Myanmar have looked down on the Ming Dynasty, and the influence of the Ming Dynasty on the various states of Myanmar has dropped to the freezing point.

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

The so-called Dongwu Dynasty is actually the Burmese Toungoo Dynasty, which fought fierce battles with the Ming and Qing Dynasties many times afterwards.

Starting from the 14th year of Jiajing, Dongwu King Mang Ruiti began to attack the Baigu Dynasty, and then conquered the Baigu Dynasty, and then occupied the important foreign trade ports of Maduba and Pyinmeet.

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 had already been aimed at the Ming Dynasty. After breaking through the Siamese royal city a few years ago, there was actually no more land to be encroached around Myanmar. (End of this chapter)