Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 182 Internal Response
"General Kuifa captured two cities in a row. He was resolute and courageous. He made an indispensable contribution to the victory in this battle. It is really cause for celebration!" Marshal Zheng Guohui looked over with a kind expression and praised Major General Dong Kuifa's performance. Everyone saw it.

Rear Admiral Dong Kuifa, who had hurried over in a small sampan to dock the sailing warship "Count Fabiano Perez" on Carabao Island, felt as if his whole body had lightened after hearing the Marshal's praise.

He said respectfully, "We won this battle without bloodshed, all thanks to the Marshal's brilliant plan. When our Great Chu Dynasty soldiers appeared before us, those foreign soldiers were all stunned. No one could have imagined such a turn of events."

"Hahahaha...Warfare is the art of deception." Zheng Guohui smiled indifferently, with a hint of complacency in his expression.

More than a month ago, when he was reviewing the fleet's bay exercises, he saw a Spanish warship docked at the naval base and suddenly had an idea.

He had the idea of ​​recreating the "Trojan Horse" in his mind, and it turned out to be a great success.

It seems
The same approach can be applied to the Cavite Fort, but it needs to be slightly improved based on the actual situation.

Cavite Fort is located on the Cavite Peninsula, which looks like a hook. In Tagalog, Cavite means "hook", hence the name of the place.

The Cavite Peninsula extends deep into the bay like a hook. There are many small bays and steep rocky shores along the coast of the peninsula. The Cavite Fortress is located at the top of the peninsula, overlooking the surrounding area.

The fort is some distance away from the port, where a large number of local indigenous people and Chinese expatriates live, forming a prosperous and bustling Cavite town.

There are also shipyards and numerous trading companies here, selling ceramics, silk, tea, lacquerware and other mainland products. More than 100,000 people live in the surrounding villages and towns. It is an area with a long history of development.

Cavite Town is a fortress city with walled defenses. The Spanish had more than 2200 indigenous vassal troops in the area, forming a bay defense line that echoed the fortress.

The military intelligence information held by the Great Chu Army is quite detailed, including the population of towns around Manila, commercial transactions, human geography, military and other fields of intelligence, which are listed in different categories.

Throughout Metro Manila

The Spanish colonial military force consisted of 13 companies, with a total of about a thousand people, belonging to the Royal Manila Musketeers and the Royal Prince Militia, which were the core white armed forces.

Its main defense area is the five forts, including Corregidor Fort, Carabao, Cavite Fort, Intramuros Fort and Fort Santiago. Due to the Spanish colonists' suspicion of the local indigenous people and Chinese, these forts were all guarded by white soldiers.

The first two had been conquered, and more than 220 white soldiers were killed, which was almost one-fifth of the Spanish force.

But we can't calculate it that way. The Spanish colonized the entire Luzon Islands for more than 300 years, and their strength and foundation are still quite strong.

In the Greater Manila area

In addition to more than a thousand white soldiers, the Spanish Royal Governor-General of Luzon also had a total of more than 1.3 indigenous vassal troops to control large urban areas.

When encountering danger, more than 2 men of Spanish white descent can be mobilized to form a royal militia to fight against invaders, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

During the battle in Cebu, they encountered organized resistance from white militia.

Fort Corregidor

Zheng Guohui was talking in a relaxed manner with his senior officers. In the distance, there were several large sailing ships on the sea, heading towards the entrance of Manila Bay.

Zheng Guohui said;
"Look... Manila is a crucial link in the Pacific shipping route, and its importance is irreplaceable. Cargo ships crossing the Pacific must pass through the Luzon Islands. Hundreds of years of French and foreign maritime history prove this."

"Marshal, this is amazing. There are ocean currents in the vast ocean. To me, the sea water looks the same, but I never thought there would be such magical changes." Major General Zheng Shun, commander of the second division, was full of surprise and admired it endlessly.

Zheng Guohui smiled faintly and explained;

"Not only your army generals, but also these naval generals, did not know about the existence of the Pacific Gyre before. This requires extensive knowledge of navigation.

Since the Age of Exploration

It took Europeans hundreds of years of exploration to figure out the specific directions of the Pacific and Atlantic currents, which is of great significance in the history of world shipping.

Previously, mainland sailors mostly sailed in rivers and rarely ventured into the sea, so naturally they had little understanding of the ocean's characteristics."

"Marshal, that looks like a British merchant ship." Major General Dong Kuifa put down the monocular telescope in his hand and pointed to the sea in the distance.

Looking down at the surroundings from the heights of the fortress, several large sailing ships were sailing on the endless sea.

The British ship that Major General Dong Kuifa pointed out was heading towards Manila Bay and should be a trading merchant ship.

Zheng Guohui didn't raise his telescope to verify, but calmly ordered, "All merchant ships entering or leaving the bay, regardless of their origin, will be seized. They will be released only after our army has completely defeated the Frankish fleet."

"As you command, Commander."

Manila Bay is indeed an important port on the West Pacific route. In just half a day, more than 10 large sailing ships were seized and sailed to nearby anchorages for anchorage.

Compared to Davao Port, there are many ships coming and going from Manila, almost involving the surrounding powerful countries, which makes it quite difficult to deal with.
Two sailboats, one in front and one behind, set off towards Cavite Port. There were 800 officers and soldiers hidden on the ships and they would arrive at the port in the evening.

Taking advantage of the night
Instigated by local Chinese insiders, they sneaked into houses in towns and waited for the opportunity to launch an attack.

The sailing warship "Count Fabiano Perez" plans to set off at dawn tomorrow, with more than 700 officers and soldiers hidden on board, and will repeat the same trick.

Cavite Port
The port was bustling and lively in the evening. There were more than twenty ships anchored in the harbor. In the shipyard not far away, several large sailing ships were under construction, and their outlines had begun to appear.

On the fishing pier on the port side
On the returning fishing boats, people were carrying loads of fresh sea fish and shrimp on their shoulders, as well as many unwanted crabs and shrimps that were discarded and thrown aside, emitting a stale and foul smell.

A mighty-looking man in brocade clothes sat by the tea stall, his eyes fixed on the sea. Beside him stood or sat a dozen capable men, all with bulging waists.

This person is Huang Zongfa, a local Chinese businessman. On the surface, he runs a tea and porcelain business, but secretly he is the boss of the Chinese gang "Chao Yi Gang" and has considerable influence in Cavite.

Huang Zongfa was a Chinese spies developed by the secret envoy Wang Haigou. The reason why he was willing to do such a dangerous thing that could cost him his life was that he could not bear the exploitation of the foreigners and was treated as an inferior.

"Boss, look at that ship, right?" the younger brother beside him came over and reminded him, pointing his hand towards the sea.

Looking in the direction he pointed, Huang Zongfa couldn't help but stand up, winked at the people behind him, and then walked straight out of the tea stall.

In this port, you can see patrols of indigenous soldiers armed with knives and guns passing by from time to time, and the entrance to the town in the distance is also guarded by indigenous soldiers.

Cavite is an important fortress port, and its security is usually very strict. Especially after the "King of the Sea" forces occupied Mindanao, the security measures have become even tighter.

These indigenous soldiers often use their power to bully Chinese businessmen and oppress Chinese people. In the current situation, they have become even more aggressive, making the survival of overseas Chinese immigrants even more difficult.

The Chinese privately called these indigenous soldiers "local dogs" and were afraid of the Frankies behind them, so they had to swallow their anger.

Huang Zongfa saw that at the city gate, several local dogs overturned the Chinese peddler's load while cursing and started beating and kicking him.

Two local dogs dragged the peddler's woman aside and raped her in broad daylight. The woman's desperate struggle only aroused the two local dogs' interest in violence.

They dragged the Chinese woman into the city gate. Their shrill screams for help could be heard, and their fate was obvious.

This situation is common in Cavite and Manila. The local natives rely on the support of white people and have always been accustomed to oppressing the Chinese.

Under the rule of the Franks, local indigenous people had to pay double the tax, mixed-race Chinese had to pay double the tax, and Chinese had to pay quadruple the tax. They were at the bottom of the exploited society and lived an extremely difficult life.

If it weren't for the search for a way to survive, who would leave their hometown and travel thousands of miles to Southeast Asia?

Huang Zongfa gritted his teeth secretly, turned around and walked towards the pier.

Standing on the pier

Huang Zongfa once again confirmed that the sailboat coming towards them was the rebel army sent by the Great Chu. He felt ecstatic and knew that the hard days were coming to an end.

Huang Zongfa has been engaged in the business of porcelain and tea all year round. He often traveled to Guangzhou Prefecture by boat and had to pass through Fort Corregidor on his way there. He was very familiar with the situation there.

Since the Chu righteous army was able to penetrate deep into the port of Cavite, they must have occupied the Corregidor Fortress and gained the upper hand.

He was just wondering why he didn't hear any gunfire.

Corregidor Fortress is more than 30 kilometers away from the port of Cavite, so the sound of gunfire certainly cannot be heard there, but the sound of artillery can be transmitted very far on the sea and can definitely be heard.

Without thinking too much about it now, Huang Zongfa came to several well-dressed native nobles, bowed his head and saluted, took out the heavy purse in his arms and handed it to them.

These indigenous nobles are the dock managers. All ships that come to dock and load and unload cargo must go through them. The designated berths at the dock also need to be arranged by the dock managers before they can dock.

Of course, you have to pay a lot of money.

Huang Zongfa lied that he and several friends had jointly imported a shipload of goods, all of which were Chinese specialties such as porcelain and tea, and they sold well locally.

After some sweet talk, he finally got approval and moored the boat at a vacant dock space.

Huang Zongfa then hurried over and stood at the dock, waving at the sailboat, asking it to dock. He had made all the arrangements.

When the boat approached and saw the man wearing a colorful turban on his head and a colorful belt around his waist, and waving his arms and making some martial arts hand gestures, the boat stopped and understood.

(End of this chapter)