The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 666 Encirclement and Reinforcements: A Decisive Victory
The southern entrance to the Strait of Malacca, Xinchengwei, the main port of the Nanyang Fleet.

Around noon, when the sun was high in the sky, a massive fleet of thousands of naval ships sped in from the east.

The five hundred two-thousand-ton Fujian warships and over a thousand centipede ships stationed here had already left the port and were lined up to wait in the west.

With so many ships, the narrow strait entrance seemed impossible to contain them all.

The Ming Dynasty's navy was at its peak.

At this time, if we only consider the number of naval ships, the Netherlands, which was about to become the maritime hegemon, could not compare with the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had already begun to phase out sailing warships and build steamships, and the development momentum was strong.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, has exhausted its potential and simply cannot keep up with the manpower shortage.

With this shift in power, the Netherlands no longer had a chance to become a maritime superpower.

The future maritime hegemon will surely be the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Wanli couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the Fujian warships with their sails that blotted out the sky.

After so many years of hard work, he is finally seeing initial results.

Prince Zhu Changhao of the Southern Kingdom couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Wow, this sailboat is huge! It's even bigger than the Weiyuan warship!"

Ignorant.

Xiao Zhu Changxun curled his lip and said, "This is only a two-thousand-ton Fujian warship. The Weiyuan warship is much more than two thousand tons. In terms of loading capacity, the Weiyuan warship is almost three thousand tons."

Don't be fooled by the tall sails of Fujian warships; they're actually not very useful. Sailing warships rely on wind direction and ocean currents to move, while steamships don't.

"We're phased out of sailing warships now. Didn't you see we're on steamships, and everything we're carrying is steamships? We don't even produce those Fujian-style warships anymore, you know that?"

what?
Prince Zhu Changhao of Xiaonan exclaimed in surprise, "We're not going to build such powerful warships anymore?"

As the two little guys were talking, the flagship had already docked at the main naval port. As soon as the cabin door was closed, a naval officer strode up.

This person is Pan Hewu.

He was originally stationed in Luzon.

However, among the Nanyang naval commanders, he was the only one who had ever sailed to the Burmese Pacification Commissioner's Office. Therefore, Wanli had long ago ordered him to secretly take several shuttle ships to the Burmese Pacification Commissioner's Office to investigate.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli summoned the generals to the map and asked, "How is the situation on the Burmese Pacification Commissioner's side?"

Pan and Wu quickly explained in detail: "At this moment, there is no unusual activity in their capital city of Ava."

I pretended to lead my soldiers as merchants to deliver goods, and they didn't care. I just slipped them some silver coins, and the guards let me and my few dozen men in.

The Burmese Pacification Commissioner probably never expected them to attack from the south.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the map and asked, "How deep is the Jinsha River? Can the Weiyuan warship reach Ava City directly?"

Pan and Wu nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem. I have surveyed the section of the Jinsha River from its mouth to Ava City. The water depth in the middle is more than three zhang."

Moreover, the section of the river near Ava City is exceptionally wide, seemingly exceeding ten miles in width.

That's no problem.

Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "Have you found out roughly how many troops are stationed in Ava City?"

Pan and Wu nodded repeatedly and said, "I have asked many merchants over there, and they all say that the Toungoo Dynasty has almost sent out its entire force this time. There are hardly any troops left in Ava City, at most a few thousand, definitely not more than ten thousand."

well.

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then asked, "Are there many river ports and wharves over there?"

Uh, this.

Pan and Wu said cautiously, "Your Majesty, there are only about ten docks over there, and most of them are for small fishing boats. There is only one dock for shuttle boats, and there is no large dock for the Weiyuan warship."

This is a bit troublesome.

They set off in such a hurry that they didn't even have enough provisions, let alone any materials to build the dock.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Yuansheng, does Xinchengwei have the materials to build a dock?"

We've used up all the materials needed to build this dock.

However, there are quite a few docks in this main naval port.

Li Yuansheng was taken aback for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, we only use the materials we reported for building the dock. If there's really no extra, can we dismantle the dock?"

This is not a bad idea.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Alright, go and order people to dismantle the docks. Dismantle ten docks for the flying shuttle ships and two docks for the Weiyuan warships."

"We must dismantle everything today. Load all the materials onto the shuttle boat and prepare to haul it to Ava City to build a dock."

Li Yuansheng quickly cupped his hands and said, "This humble general obeys the order."

Having said that, he strode away.

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "He Wu, how many people do you estimate you can bring into the city at most?"

We can't bring too many of these.

Pan and Wu thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, if there are more than a hundred people carrying the goods, I'm afraid it will arouse their suspicion."

"Then a hundred it is." Upon hearing this, Wanli decisively said, "Yinglong, is it alright for you to choose a hundred experts to go with He Wu to steal the city gate?"

That's definitely no problem.

I can go alone without any problem.

Haha, I've got this credit!

Yang Yinglong nodded excitedly and said, "No problem, Your Majesty."

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "He Wu, how far is it from here to Ava City, and how far is it from the mouth of the Jinsha River to Ava City?"

Pan Hewu pondered and said, "Your Majesty, it is about four thousand li from here to Ava City, and it should be more than a thousand li from the mouth of the Jinsha River to Ava City."

The distance isn't very far.

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then decisively said: "This time we will besiege the point and attack the reinforcements."

Liangyu, you will lead the Second Battalion of the Divine Machine Army and 200,000 Sichuan soldiers to be responsible for the encirclement. Tomorrow morning, you will take all the flying shuttles and set off with He Wu.

Remember, when you reach the mouth of the Jinsha River, let He Wu go ahead for about an hour before following. This will give He Wu and the others enough time to sneak into the city.

Also, when besieging a city, don't bring out the Shenji Battalion's cannons first, and don't fire your troops while they are besieging the city.

You need to make that Prince Liangyuan think that our 300,000 troops are unarmed, so that they will not hesitate to return to our aid.”

Qin Liangyu nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli then pointed to the map and carefully instructed, "Yiming, you are in charge of attacking reinforcements."

We don't yet know where King Liangyuan's army has reached, nor do we know their marching speed.

First, send scouts with large telescopes to land near Ava City with Liangyu's troops. Then, have them scout westward from Ava City. Once they find that King Liangyuan has led his army back to reinforce the city, report back immediately.

I estimate that they have advanced at least four or five hundred miles east of Ava City. Considering the time it would take for their fast horses to send a message, it will take their reinforcements at least five or six days to get back to Ava City.

We will lead the Fourth Battalion of the Divine Martial Army to wait at the mouth of the Jinsha River. Once we receive news, we will proceed. When they are less than fifty li from Ava City, we will launch a two-pronged attack, cutting off their rear and encircling them.”

Qin Yiming nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

King Liangyuan truly did not expect that the Ming Dynasty would bypass the South Seas and attack from the south.

He always believed that the towering mountains stretching for thousands of miles between Toungoo and the Ming Dynasty formed a natural barrier, and even if the Ming soldiers could cross it, it would be difficult to transport supplies and provisions.

Therefore, even if the Ming Dynasty were to wage war against Toungoo, it would not be able to hold out for long before it had to withdraw.

In other words, it didn't matter that their strength was inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty simply couldn't conquer this far western region relative to the Central Plains.

This is also the fundamental reason why the Burmese Pacification Commission dared to constantly challenge the Ming Dynasty and seize control of the Three Pacification Commissions and Six Pacification Commissions.

The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.

What can the Ming Dynasty do to them?
Who knew that the Ming Dynasty would suddenly invade from the south along the Jinsha River!
King Liangyuan had absolutely no defenses in the south. He didn't even station a single soldier to guard or protect the area from the mouth of the Jinsha River to Ava City.

Qin Liangyu led her army all the way along the Jinsha River and rushed to the river port west of Ava City in a single day.

When the garrison of Ava saw the densely packed Ming Dynasty naval ships stretching as far as the eye could see, they were so frightened that they immediately dispatched a fast horse to report to the Mubang Pacification Commissioner and quickly closed the city gates.

When the news reached the Mubang Pacification Commission, King Liangyuan was so alarmed that he immediately led his army back to provide assistance.

He didn't consider whether the Ming army had firearms or cannons; he only knew that Ava City could not be lost.

Especially now, Ava City absolutely cannot be lost.

Because almost all of his troops were located east of Ava.

If his troops are to the west or even south of Ava, it doesn't matter much. If Ava is lost, so be it; they can just flee to the northwest or southwest.

That area was still their territory, and they still had a lot of farmland there. They could gather provisions and wait for the Ming army to retreat.

Now that they're east of Ava, the situation is different; they have no way to escape to the northeast or southeast.

The southeast and northeast directions are not their territory at all, and most of the area is mountainous, so even if they tried to rob, they wouldn't be able to get any food.

Their food supplies were all transported from the west, from the direction of Ava.

In other words, once Ava City is captured by the Ming army, they will run out of food.

Although they didn't have 300,000 troops, they still had more than 200,000.

With so many troops, the consequences of running out of supplies would be unimaginable.

So, upon hearing that Ava City was besieged, he didn't hesitate and immediately led his army back.

The result can be imagined.

They had just reached within fifty li of Ava City when the sound of hooves thundered all around them, and countless Ming cavalrymen surrounded them from all directions.

These Ming cavalrymen were equipped with countless muskets, and anyone who dared to resist was riddled with bullets in the blink of an eye.

As for their prized elephant cavalry, they dared not approach the Ming cavalry at all.

Because once they got close, they would be met with oil canisters, thunderbolts, and even muskets all at once. The elephant soldiers were so frightened that they turned tail and ran, trampling their own people to death.

Upon seeing this, King Liangyuan was so frightened that he immediately surrendered!
(End of this chapter)