Chapter 294 Two Buns Stacked Together is Still a Bun

Chapter 294 Two Buns Stacked Together is Still a Bun

Chapter 294 Two Buns Stacked Together is Still a Bun

Manila Bay, off the coast of Gavitt Naval Shipyard.

The Nanyang Fleet was divided into five groups and surrounded the Spanish Manila Fleet.

Such a huge and irresistible fleet was heading for Manila. The Spanish communication ship "Duke of Diro" seen from afar during the patrol had already quickly returned to report.

This was definitely not a visit for dinner, so Spanish Rear Admiral Montojo immediately made a decision and sailed the fleet away from the waters off Manila and hid on the side of Gavit.

Unexpectedly, the enemy still caught up with them. The weak Spanish fleet had no way to escape and huddled in the harbor.

This is really too much bullying. Four Wangfu-class battleships, ten Johnson-class cruisers, twenty thousand-ton ironclad ships, forty auxiliary ships of various types, forty transport ships, and a fleet of more than 100,000 tons came to such a remote place. What are you doing? Don't come over!
Even the British Empire rarely sent out such a large fleet at once. Their warships were spread all over the world, right? There was no opponent who could compete with them, so there was no need to gather a huge fleet together.

The poor Spanish Far East Fleet, which looked like it had more than 5.9 warships, was all wooden sailing warships. The flagship cruiser "Castilla" was equipped with four old -inch guns, four, four.

The three gunboats of several hundred tons, "Don Juan de Austria", "Luzon" and "Cuba", have guns with a caliber of 4.7 inches, and the others are not worth mentioning.

The enemy's transport ships were far behind, and even if my guns hit all the ironclad ships in front of me, it would only tickle the ironclad ships. This was not a naval battle at all, but a massacre.

Major General Montojo prays sincerely, you are just passing by, passing by, you can't see me, you can't see me.

Probably because the Far East is the territory of Confucius, Laozi, and Tathagata Buddha, the distance at which His Excellency the Major General prayed was too far, and the signal was not good and could not be received.

The Spanish fleet's attempt to rely on divine power to become invisible failed. The enemy got closer and closer, and then crossed the ship with malicious intentions.

"Boom! Boom!"

Hey, you don't need 110-pound shells to attack our broken ships. Don't you think it's a waste?
Apparently, the arsenal specially hidden in Lanzhou had a superb capability to manufacture artillery shells. The shells were not too large and were easy to transport. The Nanyang Navy's artillery shells were self-produced, low-cost, and sufficient.

The enemy fired a salvo and the two gunboats were smashed to pieces.

We did a lot of bad things and I really don’t know why we got beaten.

Shouldn't you first announce our crimes, then persuade us to surrender, and then fight us if that doesn't work? We are willing to surrender.

Going directly to the last base like this is too barbaric and too rough.

While the Nanyang Fleet was loading artillery shells, the opposing fleet quickly raised the white flag and surrendered.

Zeng Jize, who was beside Shao Quanzhong, was stunned. "Why are the Spanish not as courageous as the Japanese? They surrendered without firing a single shot?"

Grant, who was standing beside him, laughed. "Master Zeng, your concept of the Spanish is still stuck in the past two hundred years. They have been vassals of the French for a hundred years in the last century. Now they are a second-rate country. How can they still have the prestige of the Invincible Fleet?"

Emery nodded. "The Spanish fleet's combat capability has long been unworthy of its reputation. Their navy has been declining. Outdated weapons, dilapidated ships, and veterans who lack training and fighting enthusiasm are basically the general situation of the Spanish navy."

Zeng Jize was still a little worried. "But once we reach the South China Sea, isn't it a bit risky to go to war with the Netherlands and Spain, two former world hegemons, at the same time? Shouldn't we do it one by one?"

"I've told Liu Niang that nothing can be snatched away quickly. We rose to prominence too late, and now we've occupied all the territory in the world. If not these fallen phoenixes, who should we snatch from? What about the Netherlands and Spain? Two buns stacked together are still buns. I can't beat big brother Britain, but I can't beat you. Send people to accept the surrender, and the main fleet will march to Manila!"

When Liao Rong returned from Europe after a long journey, except for the captain who was a student studying in the UK, all the sailors in the fleet were hired retired British soldiers.

As soon as they returned to Zhenjiang, they immediately recruited double the number of sailors and officers. Ma Han's Zhenjiang Naval Academy remained open and trained enough local officers and sailors sent by You's navy.

The subordinates had been complaining about the overstaffing of sailors, but now they found that it was useful. Although the naval officers trained by Mahan were not as good as the cadets in England, it was easy for them to command such backward sailing warships, right?
It turned out that Shao Quanzhong had already planned to capture the warship and had prepared the personnel to receive it in advance.

…………

In Manila, Navarro, the governor of the Spanish colony of Luzon, was worried. Why did the fleet leave the port without saying hello? Who was the governor? He soon found out the reason. A large number of ironclad ships surrounded Manila, and he immediately understood why the navy fled.

The port outside Manila has a good environment and the water is very deep. If a naval battle occurs and the warship sinks, the sailors will basically be doomed.

Major General Montojo ran to Gavitt's side, where the water was shallow and most of the sailors could be rescued even if the warship sank, increasing their chances of survival.

Well, you didn't inform me when you got the news of the enemy's massive attack, and you ran away so fast. I must report you to the Queen and remove you from your post.

Navarro's judgment was accurate, and Major General Montojo's decision saved a large number of Spanish sailors. Two gunboats were sunk, and only 167 people died and 214 were injured in the Spanish Far East Fleet. All the sailors who fell into the water were rescued.

The Nanyang Fleet’s losses: six people were slightly injured.

How could there be losses if there was no attack? Six Chinese sailors who were not well adapted to the tropical environment suffered from heat stroke and collapsed in the stuffy engine room.

None of the British veterans who had experienced many naval battles suffered from heatstroke. They were experienced and knew to take turns going out for fresh air when the fighting was not going on. So - Navy, there is really a lot for China to learn.

"The enemy fleet has entered Spanish territorial waters without authorization and has declared war on Spain. Come, protest to them."

The boat with the white flag soon returned with the other side's reply, "You invaded our vassal state, Sulu, and we are here to take revenge."

Navarro immediately wrote back, "This is easy to handle. We can talk, don't use force."

In this reply, the Spanish translator repeated Shao Quanzhong's words in full, "When you attacked our vassal state without authorization, you declared war on us. You can choose when the war starts, but you cannot choose when it ends. Surrender to me now, and don't say I didn't warn you."

Can Governor Navarro surrender? He also has the responsibility to defend the territory, so he blows the whistle to gather the troops.

The other side became impatient and began to bombard the coastal defense artillery. As soon as the artillery sounded, Governor Navarro quickly fled with two thousand defenders and moved inland.

What? Fight? The Spanish Far East Fleet following behind them has hoisted the Yellow Dragon Flag. Am I going to use my head to intercept their shells?

On the flagship Zhendong, Song Laosan rubbed his hands, "Is it time for us to go? How much can we grab this time?"

"We are a civilized army. No looting this time. Come on, go into the city and maintain order."

Ah? Are we the civilized army again?
Song Laosan led the Guards Brigade into the city in an orderly formation. Then, I finally understood why Shao Quanzhong was so restrained this time. He did not bombard Manila, but only bombarded the coastal defense artillery once.

A large number of Chinese workers knelt on the roadside, crying bitterly, and welcomed the imperial soldiers.

Luzon has a population of 1.3 million, with about 100,000 overseas Chinese, concentrated in big cities, with the largest number in Manila, so of course they cannot be robbed.

"Report, the Governor's Office treasury only has 300,000 silver dollars, but in the warehouse by the sea, there are silk, tea and porcelain worth about 1 million taels of silver, which should be prepared to be shipped back to Europe."

Shao Quanzhong sat on a chair in the Governor's Mansion, looking around at the luxurious decoration. "What's wrong with the Spanish brains? With the money for decoration, why don't they lay a telegraph line?"

After hearing the report from his men, he waved his hands and said, "Move all the goods away. We are kindhearted and will transport them to Europe for them. The price can be doubled in Europe. Take 200,000 silver dollars and keep them to pay the soldiers. We can't come here for nothing, right? Leave 100,000 for the government."

"The Spanish have all fled, where are the authorities?"

"It will be ready soon. What's the Sultan's name? Oh, and call Jilang over to me."

The men went down to call for help. Ping'er didn't understand, "Your Highness, we conquered this territory. It seems to you that you want to give it away to the Sulus for free? Isn't that Langji taking advantage of it?"

Song Lao San next to him was also dissatisfied, "Brother Shao, there are so many Han people in the city. If we want to establish a government, we should let the Han people have the final say."

(End of this chapter)