In Yingyang Harbor, Kunlun Island, Funan, a sea shark warship entered the port, and the port resounded like a tide of cheers. The dragon flag of the Taiji twin regiment floating on the top of the mast of the battleship is no stranger, this is the "official flag" of Yinghua. Any navy ship must hang the regimental dragon flag, and below it is the red and blue flying dragon and rain navy flag, but all the official flags are white on a red background, but this flag is a gold pattern on a red background.

The emperor came to Kunlun Island in person!

The military and civilians of Kunlun Island have lived here for several years, and they have built this barren land into a prosperous military port. Large tracts of arable land and pastures have spread out on the island, and they are already self-sufficient in grain, vegetables, melons and fruits, and even can export cattle, sheep and livestock. In addition to the military port, many small villages are also scattered throughout the island, with men, women, and children, and there are already 40,000 or 50,000 people on the island.

There is the local comfort of the Heavenly Temple, and everyone regards this place as their hometown. But the nostalgia for the homeland is contained in the blood, and it is difficult to wave the mouth, and whenever there is an opportunity to go to Guangzhou, it is all a bloody rush.

Now that the emperor has come to Kunlun Island, he has given great relief and encouragement to these tens of thousands of people, and the emperor is thinking of us after all, Kunlun Island is the land of China after all! On weekdays, there will be a lot of complaints in private, and the emperor is not a clear master in the eyes of these people who are mainly prisoners of war in the green camp, but when he sees the golden dragon flag, no matter how much he has a knot, he is also untied with tears on his face. Even those who couldn't listen to the emperor the most in the past waved their arms and shouted loudly, and the feeling of having a home and being one was really good......

The civilians thought so, but the officers and soldiers felt differently, they knew why the emperor came. When the emperor appeared and stepped on the school review stand of the military port, everyone felt that their hearts were rippling, and it was difficult for them to cheer loudly, and the tide of long live did not stop for a long time.

In the face of tens of thousands of naval officers, Li Xi only said a few words.

"This battle is the battle that will determine my Chinese national fortunes! I'm watching, a country is watching, and thousands of fathers and fellow villagers are watching! ”

"This battle is to create my great cause in China! Soldiers, you will all go down in history! ”

"I want to see the soldiers capture the flag with my own eyes, and I will never sit and wait for news from thousands of miles away!"

"I'm Huaxia, Wansheng!"

Wansheng! Wansheng!

The tide of shouts broke through the low-pressure clouds, and the prelude to Yinghua's victory in the South Seas was officially opened.

"Your Majesty's golden body, going to sea for thousands of miles, is still too dangerous."

In the Yingyang Harbor Palace, when there was only Ping Xiao Sheng left in front of Li Xian, Xiao Sheng complained again. Even if there are only two people getting along, the tone is still so formal, revealing Xiao Sheng's dissatisfaction.

Xiao Sheng was only dissatisfied, and when Li Shi announced this decision in the Boundless Palace, the roar of the ministers almost overturned the entire hall. Yang Chongdou and Liang Zaishen and other old ministers even scolded, shouting that if the king is not secret, he will lose his body, and also took Qin Shihuang and Sui Chang Emperor as examples, saying that those who run around the world are faint monarchs. Li Xi not only ran around, but also went to sea to the South Seas!? Not to mention any epidemic and military disaster, if you accidentally encounter a storm, the future of tens of millions of people in this country will be empty.

Even Su Wencai, Liu Xingchun and other henchmen did not support it, and Li Xian could only force Fan Jin to come out to block his saliva. Fan Jin was alarmist, without him, the emperor, going to the front line to cheer up, the country would have no future, so he reluctantly coaxed the courtiers.

But the back garden was not very flat, and Li Shi had to put a lot of effort into Yan Sanniang and Xiao Fumei, and the two of them were able to appease the other sisters. Yan Sanniang didn't care about the other sisters, so she arranged Siniang, who had returned to her side, to be by Li Shi's side, while Xiao Fumei had enough cinchona and other medicines, not that she was already pregnant with Liujia, and she really wanted to accompany Li Shi to the sea.

Facing Xiao Sheng, Li Shi still wanted to show his mouth, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Half of coming here is also to avoid trouble." ”

Xiao Sheng frowned, avoid trouble?

Li Xian said inscrutablely: "Avoid the disaster of Huangpu Yutou Street." ”

Xiao Sheng still didn't know the essentials, Yutou Street he knew that it was part of the fish market earlier, selling the kind of river fish with fish heads that were more valuable, so it was called Yutou Street, and now it is full of ticket shops. When he came to Kunlun Island to coordinate the war, he heard that a stock exchange had just been opened.

Li Xian didn't want to distract him, so he didn't say more, just asked him how much spare money he had, and if he had, he would transfer it to Guan Guan to take care of. Xiao Sheng didn't think much about it, and handed over all the more than 30,000 taels of silver he had saved in the past few years. ,

What is Guan Guan's genius ability, as a confidant of Li Xian's team, Xiao Sheng knows it very well. Qingtian Company withdrew from many industries and turned into an investment company, which has become a major chaebol in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Holding silver, looking for a way to make profits, countless emerging industries in the country have Qingtian Company behind them. And the one in charge of this lucrative business is Guan Kou.

These henchmen, in addition to the country's money, also have to share the rich bonuses of Qingtian Company every year, which is also the reason why Xiao Sheng can take out so much spare money.

Then the two talked about the current war situation, aiming at Luzon, which is based on 10 million national bonds in Nanyang. At first, he did not think of fighting the Spaniards, but threatened Spain's "galleon trade" with a moderate degree of naval conflict. This forced the Spaniards to bow their heads and accept the changes in the South Seas. And the 10 million military expenses were recovered from the compensation of the Spaniards and the routes from Manila to Fujian, Japan and other places.

However, the movement of the Spaniards was beyond Li Shi's expectations, and the Spaniards gathered a huge fleet in Manila, including two battleships, and such a fierce reaction made Li Xi understand that he underestimated the arrogance of the Spaniards and their determination to protect the vested interests of the South Seas. It underestimates the importance attached to the "galleon trade" after the decline of Spain.

Spain had been defeated by Britain and the Dutch in the Atlantic, and the Atlantic route was threatened, making it more dependent on trade from Mexico to Luzon. Legend has it that the "gold and silver shipping route" that transported gold and silver from South America, through Luzon to the Middle East and back to Spain, did exist, but the Spaniards found that it was more profitable to transport gold and silver from South America to Luzon, and use the gold and silver to buy goods from China, Japan, and Luzon, and then transport them back to the South American colonies for sale. As a result, the galleon trade became a lifeline for Spain and the development of the South American colonies, especially Mexico.

Xiao Sheng said: "This is no longer a matter of 10 million, and it is not even a matter of the navy. ”

Li Shi asked: "Is the navy sure to win?" ”

This battle was the most bottomless battle in Li Shi's heart since the founding of the country, first of all, he was unfamiliar with the naval battle, and secondly, his own side had obvious disadvantages. Although there are five old and new Sea Shark ships and 32 converted Sea Turtle ships, they are all cruisers or frigates. The two Sea Lion-class double-deck warships are still far from being completed, and their own sailors are not skilled enough to have any concept of large-scale naval battles.

At this time, the Foshan Manufacturing Bureau had developed to temper pig iron artillery embryos, and the waterwheel drilled hammer gun chambers, and the navy's newly installed 100 20-kilogram guns and more than 600 12-kilogram guns were replaced with new guns.

The Spaniards had amassed at least twenty naval cruisers, two battleships, and more than 500 guns over 12 pounder in Manila. On the surface, the Anglo-Chinese navy has a slight advantage, but the other side is a regular army that once dominated the two oceans and has a 200-year-old naval accumulation, which is far from being comparable to these young boys who have become monks halfway.

If there are more than 40 soft-sail carp ships on his side that can make do with the battle, the other party can also recruit at least 30 or more merchant ships. In contrast, it is difficult for Yinghua to gain the upper hand in terms of equipment, combat skills or troops, so Li Xi is very nervous.

But no matter how uncertain we are, this battle cannot be fought without fighting, and it must be fought as soon as possible. Let the Spaniards wait until the next fleet of galleons arrives, and the Anglo-Chinese navy will be difficult to compete with.

On Yinghua's side, ships can be built non-stop, but there are not so many captains and sailors, and at present, this scale is almost to the limit of manpower.

Li Shi's words to the officers and men that this battle was a battle to determine the fortunes of the country were not false.

Xiao Sheng said resolutely: "There is no chance of victory, there is the will to win!" This victory depends on the death-defying heart of our navy! ”

Xiao Sheng was going to go to the battlefield in person, and Li Shi, the emperor, came to Kunlun Island, so naturally he didn't have a position to stop him. And Xiao Sheng honestly admitted that he was not sure of winning, which made Li Xian's heart even heavier, but after thinking about it, he didn't know how to increase his chips.

At this time, Li Shi already knew about the war of the Europa Four-Nation Alliance, but unfortunately it was a very limited war, which was not enough for other Europa countries in the South Seas to wade into troubled waters. The Spaniards had been operating in Luzon for many years, and even the Dutch, who controlled Java and the Spice Islands, were inferior in terms of power. The British East India Company was also buried in India, and had no intention of getting involved so far. ,

Li Shi didn't want to drag other Europa countries into the water, those guys were not good men and women, and they joined forces to get rid of the Spaniards, but they had to take advantage of the situation.

Seeing Li Xian frowning and sighing, knowing his intentions, Xiao Sheng smiled and said, "Fourth brother, don't bother, coming to Kunlun Island in person is already the greatest support for our navy." ”

Li Xian's face fell, but his eyes became cold: "Even if you can't win, you have to break the backbone of the Spanish Navy!" Then I will take up my ships and stir the waters of Luzon into a pot of porridge with privateer orders! ”

Xiao Ju nodded: "Our navy is to be used as a paving stone for the army, the fourth brother can rest assured, how can we let the army go ashore safely!" ”

Since this battle was to determine the fortunes of the country, Li Shi naturally had to be put on the army and navy. The Navy opened the way, and the Army followed. The naval battle was not certain, but Li Xian didn't believe it, he did his best to raise the four armies of Yingyang, Yulin, Huben and Shenwu, totaling 50,000, and he couldn't crush the Spaniards in Luzon. At this time, the Spaniards in Luzon, men, women, and children, even the military and civilians were estimated to be less than 50,000.

This is the difference in national strength, once Yinghua wants to put all its strength in the South Seas, no Europa country can compete with it. Even if the navy was defeated, as long as it could inflict heavy damage on the Spanish navy and make it unable to cover the sea routes, it would be able to turn the tide of the war by relying on the army.

In the plane of Li Xi, decades later, in the Seven Years' War, the British and Dutch also captured Luzon, but were forced to retreat because the navy was defeated by the Spaniards. can be replaced by Yinghua, but it is not like that, Yinghua does not have a "foreign navy." "And the" Turkish Navy .

Just when Li Xi and Xiao Sheng made up their minds to defeat the bottom regardless of victory or defeat, Luzon, the Manila Governor's Palace, and the Spanish Governor Rebando also announced loudly in a hustle and bustle: "Spain's interests in the South Seas are inviolable!" Once we lose the galleon trade routes, the future of the country will be bleak! The Spaniards have already suffered defeat in Europa, and in Asia, in the South Seas, they must not allow a repeat of defeat! And we cannot allow the yellow-skinned monkey to impose defeat on us Spaniards! This is not only a desecration of the glory of the Kingdom, but also a great insult to those of us who have been blessed by God! ”

He looked around at the crowd and spoke with the greatest fervor of the merchants, officers, and resident representatives present: "I cannot imagine anything more shameful in this world than those yellow-skinned monkeys who have defeated us Spaniards!" ”。 ）