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You come and go, compete against each other

(0826)

In fact, before the agreement was signed, Alonsoden actually realized that this meeting was a painful choice for the Spaniards. Idiots knew that once the agreement was reached, merchant ships from the Ming Empire in the North would continue to appear on the seas of the South Ocean, constantly plundering the wealth that should have belonged to the Spaniards.

Those merchant ships from the north have too many advantages compared to those from Spain. Nanyang was originally the doorstep of the Ming Empire. The merchant ships from the Ming Empire took a short time to travel to and from the South China Ocean, and the cost required was very low. Moreover, in the South China trade, the most profitable silk, tea, porcelain and other goods all came from the Ming Empire.

In recent years, glass has also become a scarce commodity. A large amount of glass from the Ming Empire has continuously completely eliminated the Italian market and flowed into Europe in large quantities, becoming a newcomer in maritime trade. Glass has once again become a hot spot for trade. Any big merchant with a little strength will try every means to get involved in the glass business.

In the past, merchant ships from the Western powers transported a large amount of glass from the West and sold them within the Ming Empire to obtain a large amount of profit. Now, merchant ships from the Ming Empire sold a large amount of glass to the Western powers' merchant ships and made huge profits. In the past, the amount of glass to the shore was very small. But now, it is the arrival of ships one by one.

In the past, only very capable families had the ability to buy glass, and sometimes they were priced out of stock. No matter how high the price of glass was sold, the market was limited and the total profit was not very high. The production of glass was very limited, and Italians had no choice. Now, glass was flying all over the sky, and as long as there were large merchants, there were glasses.

Even chiefs, tribal leaders and others in colonial areas are qualified to buy them. The entire glass market has expanded tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of times compared to the original one. Naturally, what comes with it is naturally rich profits. In fact, glass sales alone can basically maintain the daily expenses of the White Army.

In addition to glass, there is another kind of commodity from the Ming Empire that is very popular among Westerners. That is white marble porcelain. This exquisite porcelain is very consistent with the aesthetic views of Westerners. The royal families of Western countries have begun to use white marble porcelain as tableware. Since the royal family has set an example, other powerful people will naturally follow the trend. As a result, white marble porcelain is expensive in the European market, and the water has risen.

Alonsoden was able to become the governor of Spain in Manila, in addition to having a strong backstage, his own abilities should not be underestimated. He was very worried that the economic strength of the Ming Empire was too huge, and no other country could be compared with the Ming Empire. Therefore, in world trade, it is inevitable that a whirlpool centered on the Ming Empire would form.

A large amount of profits from overseas have actually flowed into the territory of the Ming Empire through normal maritime trade. Silver is a typical example. A large amount of silver plundered from the colonies was unknowingly earned by merchants of the Ming Empire such as porcelain, silk, and tea. The Spanish wanted to reverse this result, but unfortunately found that it was impossible to face such a behemoth as the Ming Empire.

Unless it is to launch a war with the Ming Empire and take over the wealth of the Ming Empire for one's own possession.

However, this is simply unrealistic. Although the naval of the Western powers was powerful, their army could not have arrived in the East in large quantities. Alonsoden knew vaguely that the Ming Empire had a regular army of nearly one million. To be honest, the combined regular army of all countries in Europe may not be able to exceed this number.

"What should I do?"

Poor Alonsoden didn't know what to do again.

According to his conservative estimates, in the next few years, merchant ships from the Ming Empire will increase by quadrupled each year. Such a growth rate is absolutely terrifying. What's more serious is that this is the most conservative estimate. If the White Army intends to push it behind the scenes, this growth rate may continue to rise and eventually reach an abnormal number.

Even if the Spaniards arrived first, they could not withstand many merchant ships from the White Army. Merchant ships from the Ming Empire would definitely erode all the trade share of the entire Nanyang market. It was like an elephant. Faced with the siege of countless wolves, the final result would be extremely tragic. Once there was no sufficient profit, Spain's maritime trade in the Nanyang region would be hit hard.

At present, the total tonnage of Spanish merchant ships in the Nanyang region is only about 500,000 tons, or 300 merchant ships. Among them, the largest tonnage merchant ships have a displacement of about 2,000 tons. The merchant ships heading south from the Ming Empire are constantly blowing, and in a short period of time, it may exceed this number. Perhaps, in one or two years, the total tonnage of merchant ships under the White Army will exceed 5 million tons.

The total tonnage of five million tons of merchant ships means that at least three or four thousand merchant ships are flocking to it. What is the concept of three or four thousand merchant ships? The entire Nanyang area may be covered. Every larger port can be divided into more than fifty ships. Just imagine, under the encirclement of so many merchant ships of the Ming Empire, what advantages does the Spaniards have? I am afraid that the last copper plate will be snatched away by the merchant ships of the Ming Empire.

However, it is even worse to not sign this agreement, and the consequences are even more serious.

Idiots know that the reason why the White-Clothed Army went far and took the initiative to take the lead with the Dutch was the result of the Spanish tolerant. It was precisely because they realized the serious consequences that the Spanish decided to retreat and maintain friendly relations with the White-Clothed Army. Otherwise, Manila, which was closest to the Ming Empire, would inevitably become the first target of the White-Clothed Army's navy.

To be honest, if Alonsoden was the supreme commander of the White Army, he would definitely choose to go to war with the Spaniards first. Because Manila is closest to the Ming Empire and is the most suitable target for attack. From a strategic perspective, the White Army Navy needs a bridgehead the most when moving south. Manila is the most suitable bridgehead.

Between the damage to economic interests and the war immediately, the Spaniards chose the former. This was a helpless situation. After all, the damage to economic interests can be withstood for a period of time. The consequences of the war immediately were too serious, so serious that Spain could not bear it for the time being. Of course, the Spaniards would not sit still and wait for death. They were secretly accumulating strength. As long as there was a chance to fight back, they would not hesitate.

"Leave it to fate!"

Alonsoden talked to himself helplessly.

He said this sentence in vague Chinese.

...

“It seems to be going smoother than we thought…”

Chen Xinhai used relatively optimistic statements in his report to Xu Xingxia.

However, Xu Xingxia's instructions were still heard. Therefore, Chen Xinhai dared to use a very small number of optimistic statements, and was humble and respectful in other statements. He knew very well that the Dutch would eventually show his fangs to the white-clad army. The two had a huge competition for interests and the battle to put on hegemony, and only war could resolve it.

The Dutch's reaction was actually abnormal. The current reaction of the Dutch is very inconsistent with their maritime hegemony. The Dutch will definitely fight back against such acts that seriously threaten the maritime interests of the Dutch. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Dutch were on the surface and actively prepared for war in secret. If the white-clothed navy was deceived, the consequences would be very serious.

The reason why the Dutch remained silent was mainly because they did not understand the background of the White-Clothed Navy for the time being. Once they had some understanding of the White-Clothed Navy, they would take action. The naval fleet of the sea coachman was still quite powerful.

Therefore, the White Navy must seize this time to vigorously build various port defense facilities around Balian, and equip the newly developed 105mm howitzer on the port's fortress to improve its attack and defense capabilities as much as possible.

In the rear, the White-Clothed Navy had to produce large quantities of Taishan-class and Wutaishan-class warships to maintain the number of warships against the Dutch Navy. At the same time, the construction of Tianshan-class warships must also speed up the progress. We must strive to use Tianshan-class warships with a displacement of 1,500 tons before the Dutch naval main fleet arrived in the Far East to curb large Dutch warships.

In order to further accelerate the speed of shipbuilding, Xu Xingxia personally served as the general manager of the Shipbuilding Department to coordinate contacts in various aspects more conveniently. The chairman himself took action, and the shipbuilding efficiency of major shipbuilding yards will naturally be greatly improved.

...

The spring of the third year of Taichang was late and staggering.

However, there was no spring on the surface of the South China Sea, and the smell of gunpowder became stronger.

The reason is very simple. There is news that the reinforcement fleet from the Netherlands has set out secretly from Amsterdam and can reach the Far East in about five months. It is said that this is a very large mixed fleet with a total of fifty large warships. Among them, the largest warship displacement is more than 1,500 tons, and the number of cannons equipped is more than 1000. The person who led this huge fleet is a Dutch Admiral.

In the Netherlands at that time, there were only five admirals, and each of them had very strong strength. Generally speaking, the five of them only operated in the Atlantic region. Now, for the needs of the East, an admiral was sent to lead a huge fleet. For a time, the whole of Europe was speculating about what happened in the East that could make the Dutch Navy so powerful.

After the White Navy arrived in Nanyang, Afelle immediately reported the situation urgently to the Netherlands. As a result, the Netherlands responded quickly. Anyone familiar with the inside knows that this is the fastest reaction speed in the Netherlands. Because the naval fleet is not as good as the army, it can be dispatched at any time. Especially when traveling to such a distant sea in the east, the fleet will take at least one month to prepare in advance.

It can be seen from this that the top leaders in the Netherlands are not as indecisive and hesitant as Afelle. They took action very decisively. In addition, if any country is unstable and looking forward, it will not be powerful. When it is time to be decisive, it should be decisive. When it is time to be iron-blooded, it should be iron-blooded. Otherwise, the Dutch will not be able to achieve their maritime hegemony. As for the risk of defeat, there is no need to take into account that much.

If news of reinforcements came from the Dutch side, then the southward movement of the Fifth and Sixth Fleets of the White-Clothed Navy was seen as the beginning of the war. Both sides were increasing troops to the South China Sea, and it was impossible not to fight. Even idiots could feel that an unprecedented maritime battle was about to take place in the South China Sea.

At the end of March of the third year of Taichang, two fleets of the White-Clothed Navy went south and entered Balinbang together. In this way, the White-Clothed Navy stationed five fleets in the Balinbang port, with more than 80 large warships. Balinbang was only a few hundred nautical miles away from Jakarta. The target they targeted was self-evident.

For a moment, the entire Nanyang sea became trembling. Other forces secretly warned their merchant ships not to pass by the sea between Balin and Jakarta. They would rather take a detour than lose their lives.

Not only that, the White Navy also had a large number of transport ships heading south and transported a large amount of supplies to the port next to Balin. Among them, the most important combat readiness material was the recently produced howitzer with a caliber of 105mm. This heavy weapon with a maximum range of more than ten kilometers was deployed on the port's fortress, with a dark muzzle eyeing at the entire port. This large-caliber artillery can easily destroy a warship with just one shot.

The port turrets are basically fixed, and there is no need to move the cannons as long as they are installed. Therefore, the heavy 105mm howitzer can fully exert its power. There are eight turrets on both sides of the port next to Ba, and six howitzers are deployed in each turret. Therefore, there are a total of forty-eight heavy artillery in the entire port.

Chen Xinhai is still very confident about the defense of the Balinbang port. If the Dutch fleet wants to capture Balinbang, it will definitely pay a fatal price. Under the cover of heavy artillery, it is still unknown whether the Dutch warships can enter the Balinbang port. Even if all the Dutch navy arrives, what awaits them will definitely be the fate of a crushing defeat.

However, with Chen Xinhai's character, or Xu Xingxia's instructions, it is impossible for the White-Clothed Navy to stay in the port and rely on heavy artillery to fight. The White-Clothed Navy will inevitably fight face-to-face with the Dutch Navy on the vast sea.

The key to the matter is, where and when will the main force of the Dutch Navy be launched?

...

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Chapter completed!