My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 289 The Crown Prince's Education
Sure enough, new news came from Southeast Asia.

Little Fatty Jun said excitedly:

"Master Su! Our Ming fleet has arrived in Manila. The people of Southeast Asia are welcoming us at the port, and Chinese merchants from Luzon have gathered in Manila, saying they want to rebuild the Kingdom of Luzon and continue to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty!"

"This greatly enhances the prestige of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Su Ze wasn't as excited as Xiao Pang Jun.

On the one hand, he already knew the result from the system and knew that the Ming fleet would arrive in Manila smoothly.

On the other hand, he was not as optimistic as Xiao Pangjun. Manila is just a city on Luzon Island and cannot represent the entire Luzon region.

Compared to the operations of the Spanish and Portuguese in the local market, the Ming Dynasty was a complete novice.

If it were merely about controlling the city of Manila, it wouldn't be enough to say that the Ming Dynasty had returned to Southeast Asia.

However, this is a good start.

Manila is strategically located and is a key point in Luzon.

If history had unfolded as it did, the Spanish would have occupied Manila and ushered in the Luzon colonial era.

However, Spain is now afraid of war with the Ming Dynasty cutting off its shipping routes to the East, so it does not dare to confront the Ming Dynasty head-on, which in turn gives the Ming Dynasty room to maneuver.

However, Xiao Pangjun wasn't entirely optimistic; he said:

"My uncle received news that when the Ming Dynasty navy sailed south, it was attacked by multiple pirate groups. There are even rumors in Southeast Asia that the navy was escorting treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty."

Su Ze took Li Wenquan's letter, and after reading it, he said:

"These messages were probably released by the Spanish or the Portuguese. They dare not openly oppose the Ming Dynasty's navy going to Southeast Asia, but they are afraid that the Ming Dynasty will re-intervene in these areas, so they incite pirates to attack the navy."

Little Fatty Jun clenched his fist and said:

"That's what I think too! These Western barbarians are truly treacherous!"

"Our Great Ming army has arrived in Manila and given these Western barbarians a sound slap in the face!"

Su Ze gave his good disciple a well-deserved encouragement:

"It is also His Highness the Crown Prince's foresight that now is the perfect time to go to Southeast Asia."

Little Fatty Jun was very pleased with Su Ze's praise.

Su Ze also analyzed that Wanli's awkward personality in the original timeline was probably related to his tense and loveless childhood.

In the original timeline, after the death of Emperor Longqing, Zhang Juzheng, who was in charge of Emperor Wanli's education, was too serious and had too strict demands on the emperor.

Consort Li, who later became Empress Dowager Li, shared the same personality, prioritizing harsh discipline over encouraging education.

Therefore, in this time and space, Su Ze attaches great importance to encouraging and educating Xiao Pangjun, and supports him in making various attempts, trying his best to give him a relaxed childhood environment.

Sure enough, during his time as a lecturer at the Crown Prince's Palace, Xiao Pangjun became noticeably more cheerful.

Su Ze was the biggest supporter of the Southeast Asia plan, not only because he supported expansion into Southeast Asia, but also because he supported his good disciple's political and military practice.

Su Ze said:

"Your Highness, what are the plans for the future?"

plan?

Little Fatty Jun looked bewildered. Wouldn't the plan be completed once the Ming Dynasty navy arrived in Manila?
Little Fatty Jun said:
"Of course, we should continue south, proceed to Malacca as planned, and intervene in the war between the Portuguese and the Ottomans."

Su Ze shook his head and said:

"Your Highness, this is not how you fight a war."

"Malacca is thousands of miles away from the coast of our Great Ming Dynasty. The Great Ming Navy has gone on a long expedition. It is not something that can be accomplished by a single military order from the court.

Zhu Yijun thought about it and agreed that Su Ze's words made sense.

After years of training, Xiao Pangjun has come to understand some principles.

Back then, when he was in charge of the royal properties, those merchants still dared to engage in underhanded tactics and seize royal assets right under his nose.

Not to mention fleets thousands of miles away.

Little Fatty Jun realized that his command was impractical, so he humbly asked for advice:

"Please enlighten me, Master Su."

Su Ze said:

"The battle of Malacca will not be decided in a short period of time, so Your Highness need not be too hasty."

Little Fatty Jun nodded as well.

Naval warfare is a long process, sometimes lasting even longer than land warfare.

In the age of sail, to declare complete victory in naval warfare, one had to utterly destroy the enemy's fleet.

But how difficult it is to destroy a nation's fleet at sea.

Putting everything else aside, the Portuguese simply kept their fleet holed up in the port of Malacca, and the Ottomans couldn't do anything about it.

In the original timeline, the British and Spanish spent decades vying for naval supremacy.

Even in modern times, with the advent of reconnaissance methods such as radar and aircraft, the Pacific War still lasted for three years.

Thus, the Malacca War had just begun, with both sides still in the probing stage.

Su Ze said:

"What the Ming Dynasty needs to do is to manage Manila, help Manila build up its defenses, and then let the fleet return."

"Return?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"Naval fleets that go on expeditions overseas must return to port for rest and recuperation from time to time."

"Your Highness, the navy is also a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. As citizens of the Ming Dynasty, they will feel homesick. This is only human nature."

"The navy is not a pawn in the game of weapons. To make the navy serve, you can't just rely on orders."

Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly, so it seemed that the Ming Dynasty's navy was indeed not easy to manage.

Their original orders were to patrol the Ryukyu Islands, but they ended up going around to Penghu, and now they've been sent to Manila in the South Seas.

Su Ze continued:

"Moreover, this navy is the seed of our Great Ming Navy. It is the fleet with the most experience in long-distance voyages and actual combat. After the navy returns, the new ships of Dengzhou and Laizhou can be launched, and the fleet can be expanded."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun understood the value of the fleet and quickly said:

"Then we should get the Ming navy back to port as soon as possible. We can't afford to lose such a valuable fleet!"

Su Ze nodded slightly. Being able to make Xiao Pangjun understand the importance of the army from the perspective of interests was already quite an improvement.

The fact that the Ming Dynasty navy was able to safely sail to Manila and open up a sea route to Luzon was already a remarkable achievement.

If Manila is managed well, and then used as a base, further expansion into Southeast Asia can be achieved. Given the current influence and strength of the Ming Dynasty, if it is determined to return to Southeast Asia, time is on its side.
-
"Chief Fireman, aren't you going to the banquet?"

Zhang Si, the lookout of the Zhigu ship, saw that the fire chief Zhang Jingxiu was still dressed in casual clothes and asked him in confusion.

The Ming Dynasty navy, as a special type of military unit, was issued special uniforms.

Officers' uniforms are divided into two types: service uniforms and dress uniforms.

The everyday clothes were the clothes worn on warships. The everyday clothes of the Ming Dynasty navy consisted of trousers on the lower half and a cardigan on the upper half.

Formal attire is worn on formal occasions. The lower half is still trousers, but the upper half is a long robe similar to the official robes of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also paired with official boots and a top hat with a brim.

It is said that the design for the lower body trousers was insisted upon by Su Hanlin, but the design for the upper body clothing was the subject of much debate between the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War before a compromise was reached.

However, trousers are indeed very convenient for sailors at sea.

Because of the nature of working at sea, which often involves climbing up and down, simpler clothing is more practical.

Zhang Jingxiu shook his head and said:
"No, I'll finish reviewing the nautical charts of Manila Port first."

Zhang Si took the counting rods and said:

"Chief Fireman, let me calculate it for you."

Zhang Jingxiu raised his hand and asked:
"Weren't you already preparing to disembark?"

During this voyage to the South Seas, Zhang Si repeatedly spotted pirates ahead of time, accumulating considerable merit.

The captain wanted to promote him to officer, but Zhang Si proposed to learn navigation from Zhang Jingxiu.

Captain Li Jing promised to send Zhang Si to a navigation training course after returning to Dengzhou and Laizhou.

There was no other way; the naval commander was a technical officer, and naval regulations required that the position be held by someone with formal training.

Only if Zhang Si can graduate from the navigation training course will he be qualified to serve as a navigation captain.

Zhang Jingxiu also liked this studious lookout very much. After hearing that he aspired to become a stoker, he proposed that Zhang Si be his assistant and teach him about navigation in advance.

However, mathematical geniuses are few and far between. Zhang Si spent a lot of effort to barely get started with mathematics, but he was very hardworking and never missed an opportunity to calculate.

Zhang Jingxiu then asked, "Is the water clock on the shore ready?"

Zhang Si nodded quickly and said:

"It has been calibrated."

Zhang Jingxiu said:
"Then tonight we'll go ashore and draw a star map of Jupiter."

Before setting sail, the fire captains of the Ming Dynasty Navy received orders to calibrate the time and draw a midnight star map at each port.

It is said that this order was issued by the Imperial Observatory.

The other fire chiefs were unclear about what the Imperial Observatory was, but Zhang Jingxiu knew that it was an astronomical institution belonging only to the imperial court, and that Junior Secretary Huang Ji was in charge of conducting surveys across the four seas and revising the Ming Dynasty calendar.

Zhang Jingxiu didn't know why he had to draw the Jupiter Star Chart, but he faithfully carried out the orders of the Imperial Observatory.

Zhang Jingxiu was unaware that Huang Ji had asked them to draw a star chart of Jupiter in order to create a more accurate nautical chart.

The planet Jupiter is the planet of the year, and Huang Ji requested that the positions of several of Jupiter's moons be mapped.

These locations can be observed using the latest telescopes.

The positions of Jupiter and its moons are like a precise "celestial clock".

After calibrating the local time, a map of Jupiter at midnight can be plotted, allowing the calculation of the time difference between the local time and the Ming Dynasty's local time. This time difference can then be used to calculate longitude.

Latitude is easy to calculate. In Zheng He's time, latitude could be calculated using a star chart. Now, Su Ze's "invented" sextant can easily calculate latitude.

Once the longitude and latitude are determined, more accurate maps can be drawn.

Unfortunately, the method of calculating the celestial clock for Jupiter's moons requires a stable observation environment, which must be on a stable land surface, because Jupiter's moons are relatively difficult to observe.

Moreover, the clepsydra cannot be calibrated at sea, so it can only be used on land.

However, the Jupiter-Israel method is not the end of the lunar clock method; there is also a more convenient lunar phase method for longitude measurement.

Huang Ji calculated the lunar phase cycle at the Purple Mountain Observatory, attempting to overcome the difficulty of longitude measurement through this method.

Just as Zhang Jingxiu and Zhang Si were preparing to disembark for surveying, a banquet was being held at the Nanyang Administration Office in Manila.

Admiral Li Chao and Pacification Commissioner Chen Hao, except for the officers who remained on the ships, all attended in formal attire.

Meanwhile, in Manila, influential old nobles, Chinese merchant families, and chieftains of princely states all gathered here.

There was no way around it; the scene of the Ming Dynasty navy arriving in Manila was simply too awe-inspiring.

During this southward voyage, the Ming Dynasty navy encountered numerous pirate attacks and interceptions, but all were repelled by the Ming navy.

The last stop before arriving in port was near Manila, where they fought against the notorious Luzon pirate, Wang Shenpo.

It is said that this sorceress was originally a native of Luzon Island. When she was young, she was kidnapped by a group of Chinese pirates and became the concubine of the pirate leader.

However, Granny Wang rose through the ranks step by step, eventually killing the Chinese pirate leader and becoming the head of the pirate gang.

The Chinese pirate leader's surname was Wang, so she also used Wang as her surname. Before each raid, Wang the Goddess would sacrifice a living person to the sea god and perform a shamanic dance to "bless" the fleet. Therefore, she was known as Wang the Goddess in Southeast Asia.

Wang Shenpo possessed thirty ships of various sizes, making her a considerable maritime force near Manila.

Merchants entering and leaving Manila not only have to pay taxes to the port of Manila, but also have to pay a toll to Wang Shenpo.

However, this powerful pirate force was defeated by the Ming Dynasty navy in the waters near Manila, which was their own territory.

Even the witch Wang herself was killed by the Ming Dynasty navy, and her head was hung on the bow of the ship as it sailed into Manila harbor.

Thanks to Granny Wang's initiative in coming forward, Manila witnessed the power of the Ming Dynasty's navy, which saved a lot of trouble.

Manila's "welcome to the royal army" is not due to any historical tributary relationship, but rather to the strength of the Ming Dynasty's navy.

Therefore, today's banquet hosted by Zhang Xuan, the chief of the Southern Ocean Administration, is not a simple welcome banquet, but rather an attempt to leverage the influence of the Ming fleet's arrival in Manila to consolidate power throughout Manila.

The Manila upper class present were well aware of this, and they accepted the concession offered by Zhang Xuan. Shortly after the banquet began, representatives of Manila's major families gathered in the main hall of the Office of General Affairs for a meeting.

The final result was that ten old Luzon noble families, sixteen large Chinese merchant families, and seven local tribes from near Manila formed a twenty-three-member Manila Municipal Council to govern the city.

This new regime called itself the Kingdom of Luzon and, in the name of the Kingdom of Luzon, once again paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

However, this outcome sparked debate within the Ming Dynasty delegation.

Admiral Li Chao did not understand the current political situation in Manila, and he was the first to object, saying:
"Manila is not Luzon, so how can it pay tribute in the name of the Kingdom of Luzon?"

The Pacification Commissioner Chen Hao also maintained his opposition. His reason for opposition was not the legitimacy of this "Manila Luzon Kingdom," but rather his questioning of their political system:

"What kind of country is it if it doesn't even have a ruler? If it doesn't have a ruler, how can it present its credentials?"

Zhang Xuan, the chief of the Office of Communications, looked at the two naval leaders who were much higher in rank than him. He was the only one present who supported the tribute mission of Manila and Luzon.

He took a breath and said:

"My lords, perhaps we should take the letter and the envoy back first and ask the officials in the court to make a decision?"

(End of this chapter)