Ming East India Company

Once this thought was made, Sanchez no longer hesitated.

He immediately rose and ordered his servants to summon the Spanish merchants of Manila to his residence that very night for a meeting.

In less than an hour, prominent Spanish businessmen in Manila gathered in the living room of Sanchez's mansion. Everyone looked haggard and worried, like drowning people waiting for their last straw.

Sanchez stood in the center of the living room, his expression resolute:

"Gentlemen, I have made up my mind to lead everyone in writing a joint letter to Governor Acuña, urging him to immediately deploy the last naval fleet to fight the pirates!"

I guarantee with my life savings that the port will be reopened after this battle, and our losses will be recovered!

Upon hearing this, the merchants in the room erupted in cheers of ecstasy, echoing his sentiments. The recent trade blockade, which felt like a slow, agonizing torture, had left them in dire straits.

Sanchez's words were like a lifeline to them, and everyone wanted to grasp them at all costs.

The businessmen wrote a joint petition overnight, and everyone signed it, placing all their hopes on Sanchez.

The next morning, Sanchez, holding the petition signed by businessmen and carefully concealing the fatal equity agreement, strode alone into the Governor's Palace in Manila.

Inside the council chamber, Acuña was discussing city defense plans with naval officers when he learned of Sanchez's uninvited arrival. Enraged, he had no choice but to set aside his military duties and return to his living room to secretly speak with Sanchez.

"Sanchez! You've come at a really bad time. I'm discussing urgent military matters. We can talk about personal business tonight."

In the past, Sanchez would have bowed his head and yielded with utmost respect upon hearing such words.

But today, his expression was calm. He stepped forward slowly and gently placed the petition on the governor's desk. His tone was indifferent, yet carried an undeniable sense of authority:

"Your Excellency, I am not here to plead for mercy, but to make a request of you."

"What are you talking about?!"

Acunia could hardly believe her ears and stood up to order him to be expelled.

Sanchez, however, spoke first, lowering his voice and clearly conveying each word to Acuña's ears:

"Your Excellency, you used an alias to invest in my Pacific Trading Company, acquiring a 20% stake, and now you've lost everything."

If I am sued by local creditors again, and that shareholding agreement is made public, your crimes of engaging in illegal business and abusing your power for personal gain as governor will surely spread throughout the entire Spanish royal family.

At that time, you will lose not only all your private property, but also your job, your reputation, your freedom, and even...

A mocking expression appeared on Sanchez's face:

"Your life."

Acuña, who had just been furious, turned pale and froze. All her anger was stuck in her throat. She stared at Sanchez, both shocked and furious.

He never imagined that his most secret weakness would be so firmly held in Sanchez's hands.

"You...you dare threaten me?"

Acuña's voice trembled uncontrollably.

"I'm not threatening you, I'm giving you your only choice."

Sanchez's expression was icy, and he refused to budge an inch.

"Order the last fleet to set sail and fight the pirates. If you win, the port will be reopened, your share dividends will be recovered, and the secret will be kept forever. If you lose, I have already reached an agreement with the pirates. They have promised to protect the merchant's assets, and your secret will still not be exposed."

Acuña could hardly believe his ears. He stood up from his seat and rushed to Sanchez, half angry and half pleading.

"How can you believe those pirates' lies? If we fail, they will invade Manila and burn the whole city to the ground."

When the time comes, you profit-driven merchants will all be tied to the masts by the pirates and left to rot in the sun.

You still dare to trust them? You're driving me to the brink of despair...

Sanchez calmly said:

"Governor, this is what you need to consider. As long as you can win the naval battle, all problems will be solved."

When we encounter cash flow problems in business, we might take a huge gamble with all our remaining assets. If we succeed, we'll be worth millions; if we fail, we'll hang ourselves outside the church.

I believe that as Governor-General, you should also be aware of this!

After speaking, Sanchez found a seat nearby, picked up a cup of hot coffee from the table, and sat down.

"I have given you the opportunity."

Furthermore, don't expect to solve the problem by killing someone to cover it up. I have already passed on the relevant secrets to my closest servant, who is hiding in the city.

Once this is over, if I lose contact with him, he will return to Spain and report all your crimes to my creditors back home.

I think those creditors who have suffered huge losses will definitely use every means to dig you out and compensate them.

"Your Excellency, the path ahead is yours to choose."

The living room was deathly silent. Acunia stood frozen in place, her face alternating between pale and flushed.

He wanted to resist, to suppress, but he knew that the contract in Sanchez's hands was a deadly trump card that could bring him to ruin. He had no way out, no choice.

Just then, a commotion arose outside the door, and a guard, disregarding Acunia's order to forbid others from entering, barged straight in:

"Your Excellency, the envoy we sent to Macau was captured by pirates. His head has been cut off and thrown back into the city."

This statement dealt Acuña the final blow, meaning his plan to rely on Portuguese reinforcements in Macau had also fallen through.

Reinforcements from the American colonies and the homeland would not arrive for at least six months.

Acunia, utterly exhausted, slumped back into her chair, her eyes vacant, filled with humiliation and resentment. Ultimately, she could only nod helplessly and, in an almost hoarse voice, issue the order:

"I understand... I will gather the remaining naval fleet in Manila and set sail within seven days to fight the pirate fleet to the death."

A relieved smile appeared on Sanchez's lips.

He held the joint petition in his hand, carefully concealed the confidential contract, bowed slowly, and turned to leave the governor's mansion.

Outside the window, the sea breeze of Manila Bay howled past, and a decisive battle at sea that would determine the fate of Manila was about to begin.

……

Meanwhile, aboard the Sea Falcon 7 outside Manila Bay, Shirano was receiving a report from Bugalao. When he heard his subordinates report that Spanish sailors in the harbor had begun a large-scale assembly, repairing warships, and replenishing supplies...

Shirano shouted excitedly:

"Thank you, Mr. Bugarau."

The young Bugarau bowed gracefully:

"You're welcome, Your Majesty King of Ryukyu. Although we are allied with the Spanish, they are also our rivals and enemies in the Far East. Therefore, there is no need to doubt the strong alliance we have formed."

He then turned towards Manila:

"It seems that Sanchez wasn't lying the other day; he did manage to persuade Acuña."

At this time, Hakuno was still nominally the regent of Ryukyu, and the Ryukyu king was still the puppet Geng Jian chosen by Hakuno. However, Xiao Bujia Lao obviously knew who the real master of Ryukyu was, so he used an honorific title.

In the years prior, Shirane had made ample preparations for the Battle of Manila, not only by significantly expanding his galley fleet.

They also did their homework in the diplomatic field.

He had reassured all his allies beforehand, especially the Portuguese who might ally with the Spanish.

Upon the arrival of the Spanish envoy, Ovalinga, at the urging of Bugalao, lured and killed the envoy on the dock, then handed his head to Bugalao to be taken to Manila.

"However, Your Majesty, how could you have guessed that Sanchez was able to persuade Akunia to send troops?" Borgara asked, puzzled.

Baiye laughed heartily:

"I know very well that if you pay enough, capitalists can sell the noose that strangles them."

Manila's businessmen are only siding with the Spanish government because they fear the losses that would follow if the city falls.

"If I give them another way, they will naturally waver. Whether Sanchez succeeds or not is not important; as long as he can get my words to the ears of the merchants in Manila, the rest will naturally follow."

"Then, let's see how strong His Majesty's fleet is next," Little Bugalao said with a smile.

Shirono also laughed:

"I think it's time to teach the Spaniards a lesson."

……

At dawn, before the morning mist had dissipated from Manila Bay, the salty sea breeze carried the incessant ringing of bells, signaling the approaching moment of the decisive battle.

Inside the port, the Spanish finally unleashed their entire naval force, launching a desperate charge against the Ryukyu navy.

The entire fleet consisted of more than thirty warships, a mixed bag, hastily assembled under dire circumstances.

At the very front were fourteen Pataches, two-masted light fast boats originally used for coastal patrol and resupply. They had a shallow draft and were only equipped with small naval guns at the bow, so their firepower was weak, but fortunately, the hull was still quite sturdy and their gun-carrying capacity was passable.

The core of the Spanish fleet consisted of four galleys, which were highly maneuverable and each carried over sixty elite Spanish sailors and over a hundred indigenous rowing slaves. In order to compete with the Ryukyu navy, Acuña added all the cannons salvaged from galleons to the galleys.

Each galley is equipped with six heavy cannons, making it the only capital ship in the entire fleet capable of directly confronting naval battles.

As for the potential balance issues caused by too many naval guns, Acunia couldn't care less about that anymore.

In addition, there were more than ten local inhabitants' Kampan boats. These small wooden boats had low hulls and relied entirely on human oars. They had almost no cannons and could only carry a dozen or so inhabitants.

Acuña equipped these men with breech-loading cannons and matchlock guns, so that when the two sides were locked in a fierce battle, they could rush in and board the enemy ships to exchange for one or two Ryukyu warships.

Overall, the Spanish tactics involved using Patache boats to hold the line, then letting galleys use heavy cannons to finish off the enemy, with the indigenous fleet finishing off the remaining enemy ships if the opportunity arose.

More than thirty warships, their faded Spanish royal flags flying, stood in a loose formation on the sea outside the harbor. The rowers chanted dull, disordered calls, while the sailors gripped their muskets and swords, their faces pale and their minds uneasy.

The prolonged lockdown and hasty preparations have cast a shadow over their minds.

Beyond the bay's mouth, Wang Sanshi's forty Calais galleys were already on high alert.

As the morning mist slowly dissipated, the two fleets faced each other from afar, the distance between them steadily closing.

On the flagship of the Spanish fleet, the fleet commander Antonio de Morga gripped his sword tightly, looking at the densely packed warships of the Ryukyu fleet in the distance. Although he felt uneasy, he still held onto a sliver of hope.

He firmly believed that as long as the galleys and pataches could break through the pirate formation with their impact, they might not be without a fighting chance.

Just as both sides were about to enter artillery range, a horn sounded from the Ryukyu fleet.

The next second, something happened that left everyone in Spain speechless.

Despite having an overwhelming numerical and firepower advantage, the Ryukyu galley fleet did not launch an attack. Instead, they all turned their bows around and raised all their sails.

The rowers rowed with all their might, actively retreating and quickly moving towards the outer sea of ​​Manila Bay.

Morgan stood on the flagship's deck, watching the Ryukyu fleet retreat voluntarily, feeling extremely anxious.

Their attack was aimed at finding an opportunity for a decisive battle.

Now that the enemy has taken the initiative to retreat, it is actually disadvantageous to the Spanish, because the overall speed of the Spanish fleet is not as good as that of the enemy. If they continue to pursue, it may cause the decisive battle plan to fall through.

The thought of Acunia's stern urging before the fleet's departure filled Morga with dread.

"All troops, listen to my command! The pirates are fleeing in fear! Full speed ahead! We must crush the pirate fleet!"

The command flag was waved wildly, and the bugle call for pursuit resounded across the sea.

Morgan didn't even bother to consider formation coordination; he directly ordered the entire fleet to catch up with the enemy ships at top speed.

Upon receiving the order, the four galleys instantly unleashed their exceptional maneuverability.

With the sails fully unfurled and the three rowsers rowing with all their might, the slender hull cleaved through the waves, instantly reaching maximum speed, like four arrows released from a bow, chasing after the retreating pirates.

The Galiot ship was already exceptionally fast, and with its full-speed sprint, it left the fleet behind far behind in the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Although the fourteen Patache boats were light, their sails alone were not enough to keep up with the speed of the vanguard fleet; the more than ten small Kampan native boats were left two or three miles behind, stretching out in a loose line on the sea.

As time went on, the four galleys ventured too far into enemy territory and became completely separated from the main force behind them.

Standing on the deck of the pirate flagship, Wang Sanshi looked at the four Galliot ships behind him, which were isolated and completely out of formation, and then glanced at the Spanish main force that had been left far behind and whose formation was scattered. Finally, a confident smile appeared on his cold face.

"All ships, turn! Encircle from both flanks! Concentrate all firepower and annihilate these four Galiot capital ships! Leave no one alive!"