The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 696 The Final Battle

South America, in the Viceroyalty of Brazil, is shrouded in the shadow of war.

The Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces had almost completely conquered Bahia and its southern colonies.

The Ming Dynasty also began sending troops to support the Governor-General of Brazil, De Sheila.

By this time, Spain, the long-established maritime hegemon, had already withdrawn from the competition for supremacy due to attacks from both the European continent and overseas.

In today's world, only the Ming Dynasty could compete with the Netherlands and Britain and France for maritime hegemony.

The two sides will eventually have to fight, and this battle is very likely to break out in Pernambuco, which is under the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Brazil.

Wanli's guess was quite accurate; the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces did indeed devise a tactic of attacking the south first and then the north.

Moreover, because the colonies to the south of the Viceroyalty of Brazil were quite long and narrow, stretching for seven or eight thousand miles, it would take them a considerable amount of time to fight.

In September, Yu Zigao led his fleet back to port, and the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces had not yet launched an attack on Pernambuco.

At this point, they will be able to deploy their forces more calmly in this major battle.

Since Yu Zigao's fleet had already brought over all the garrison soldiers and supplies to build the defensive line, they only needed to bring over some more soldiers from the capital garrison.

The Weiyuan warship had a very large carrying capacity; even without armor and cannons, a single Weiyuan warship could carry at least two thousand soldiers.

Emperor Wanli then arranged for two hundred Weiyuan warships and one thousand flying shuttles to return to port and continue to bring back one hundred thousand Shenji Battalion soldiers and one hundred thousand Shenshu Battalion soldiers. The remaining one thousand six hundred Weiyuan warships and five thousand flying shuttles remained in the Americas.

He also led the main force of the navy, along with 100,000 Shenji Battalion soldiers and 100,000 garrison soldiers, to the Ningwu Guard garrison at the southernmost part of this sea area.

This Ningwuwei is naturally no longer the Ningwuwei where Ningwu Pass is located in the Ming Dynasty. As for why it was named this way, it is because at the southernmost part of this sea area, there is not only a large island with a radius of over a hundred miles, but also a bay with a radius of over two hundred miles.

Ningwuwei was originally called Shenchi (Divine Pool). The bay here felt like a divine pool, so Dusong named it Ningwuwei.

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, around noon, a massive fleet of thousands of ships arrived at the harbor where Ningwuwei was located.

This place truly resembles a divine pool. Not only do two long, narrow peninsulas extend westward from the island where Ningwuwei is located, protecting the harbor, but a long, narrow peninsula also extends eastward from the western landmass, protecting the harbor as well.

Except for the two outlets, which are twenty or thirty miles wide, in the north and south, the entire harbor is protected from all sides, so storms at sea can't blow in at all.

It's almost as if some divine being specially created a natural harbor.

Therefore, Wanli Emperor planned to build a massive naval base here.

On the flagship, he raised his binoculars and scanned the area carefully before decisively saying, "Rulong, you lead the Shenji Battalion and the Garrison Battalion to land on the island where Ningwuwei is located, and then build a port, docks, and granaries."

The docks must be able to accommodate at least two thousand ships, the granaries must be able to store at least one million shi of grain, and as many warehouses as possible should be built.

Upon hearing this, Wang Rulong quickly bowed and took his leave, then hurried away.

Soon, he boarded the nearby flying dragon ship and directed the Shenji Battalion soldiers and the garrison soldiers, who were traveling in flying shuttle ships, to approach the inner side of the island, set up gangplanks to land, and prepare to build a port and dock.

After Wanli saw that the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion and the Garrison Battalion had all rushed ashore, he invited the generals to sit down and then solemnly pointed to the map, saying, "The Battle of Pernambuco may be the decisive battle for our maritime hegemony."

If the Netherlands, Britain, and France wanted to dominate the seas, they had to seize enough colonies and plunder enough resources.

The gold reserves on the Gold Coast were not enough to sustain their dominance; they certainly wanted to take over the Viceroyalty of Brazil.

We'll use Pernambuco to lure their main force here, then encircle and annihilate them. You see, this place is less than 10,000 miles from the salient on the west coast of Africa; it will take our Weiyuan warships at most ten days to get there.

Moreover, this harbor is quite secluded; even with tens of thousands of ships inside, no one outside can tell anything about it.

The Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces would never expect us to gather naval ships here. As long as we send shuttle ships to continuously patrol the north and south entrances of the harbor, they will have no way of finding out what is happening in the harbor.

When they realize they are outmatched and begin to retreat, they will certainly return to the Gold Coast first.

As for whether they will flee directly from the Gold Coast back to Europe, we don't care. All we need to do is cross the ocean from here, block their path, and we can encircle and annihilate their main army force.

Oh, this time we must not only deplete their ships as much as possible, but also encircle and annihilate their main army force.

Upon hearing this, the generals looked enlightened and nodded repeatedly.

At first, they didn't understand why Wanli had brought so many Shenji Battalion and Garrison Battalion soldiers to build city fortresses and port docks here.

At this point, they don't just need to build this one city, fortress, and port; they have plans for hundreds of cities, fortresses, and ports.

Originally, if the one million garrison soldiers were evenly distributed among each port and dock, there would be less than 10,000 soldiers. Moreover, the main port and dock of the navy and the main city of Pianguan Town need to be built in Piantou Bay, so 100,000 garrison soldiers need to be stationed there.

If another 100,000 are brought in here, then less than 8,000 will be distributed among the other cities, fortresses, and ports.

Now they finally understand why they divided it this way.

This is the key to whether they can annihilate the main forces of the Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces in this battle, so naturally they need to gather more troops and build it as soon as possible.

Wanli then pointed to the map and carefully instructed, "Kemai, this line is your responsibility."

First, take a few Flying Dragon ships across the ocean to familiarize yourself with the shipping lanes and prepare to intercept their main force.

Remember to avoid their ships as much as possible. If you see their ships from a distance, move away and don't let them see that they are our Flying Dragon Ships.

In addition, during this period you should also send flying dragon ships to patrol the outer perimeter of this sea area to prevent them from coming over to investigate our strength and weaknesses.

If their ships are spotted approaching, immediately dispatch the Weiyuan warship to sink them, ensuring not a single one escapes.

Upon hearing this, Yu Zigao nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Wanli then instructed in detail: "Yiming, when the time comes, you will lead 100,000 soldiers of the Shenwu Camp, 100,000 soldiers of the Shenji Camp, and 100,000 soldiers of the Shenshu Camp to accompany Kemai's naval ships to land on the Gold Coast and annihilate their land forces there."

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

Wanli then instructed in detail: "Rusong, when Yunqing launches a counterattack, you will lead 100,000 Shenwu Battalion soldiers to land at Bernambu, and cooperate with Rulong to advance south and eliminate their land forces here."

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

That should be about right.

The Dutch and Anglo-French allied forces probably never dreamed that this first battle would be the final battle.

He wanted to beat those colonial robbers so badly they couldn't even get up!

(End of this chapter)