Chapter 1006 1097 Power surges
While Lieutenant Miguel and Commander Savela were talking, Deng Zilong was standing on the coast, looking at the fleet entering the bay in disbelief.
Yes, it is a fleet, a fleet larger than he imagined.
According to the report he received, the number of local ships that followed the last fleet back was more than a hundred.
In their words, it can carry at least four thousand people.
When the warship docked at a simple pier and climbed onto the gangplank, Lin Baihu got off the ship with a man wearing a large white robe and a belt, and a few people came down from behind, including Ming Ming. There are also soldiers and soldiers wearing elegant white robes.
Obviously, they are the leaders of the army brought by Lin Baihu.
Of course Deng Zilong would not despise them.
In the past few days, through communicating with the locals, Deng Zilong has a general understanding of the strength of the locals on Luzon Island.
Although there are many large and small tribes on Luzon Island, they are roughly divided into three categories: large, medium and small.
Large tribes can summon more than two thousand strong men, medium-sized tribes can usually gather thousands of men to fight, and then there are small tribes, which are not strong enough and can only dispatch as few as a hundred or as many as hundreds of people in each conflict.
Strong and weak are so clearly defined, so many small tribes choose to unite with each other to fight against tribes that are stronger than them.
After uniting, their strength can barely reach the strength of large and medium-sized tribes, and they can barely protect themselves.
Just like the tribes they came to help before, they are small tribes that usually unite together. There are not many strong men from each tribe, so they can only unite to protect themselves.
This time I learned that it was the suzerain's call. The reason why I came so actively to help was not only because of the promise of the Ming army, but also to find a backer.
Luzon today is different from before.
Not only are the local tribes fighting against each other, but the Spaniards are also watching.
But they were weak after all, so they only managed to gather 1,600 people.
Although these people are not all of them, they are almost half of their military strength.
The news he got from the ship that came back two days ago was that the people coming to help this time were the Sulu Kingdom in the south of Luzon. They would send five thousand troops to help the Ming Dynasty.
What is the concept of dispatching five thousand people to help fight?
Even when the King of Luzon's tribe was at its most powerful, the number of troops that could be mobilized was only three to four thousand.
With this power, he can dominate other tribes on Luzon Island and become the de facto king.
This is also the reason why Zheng He’s fleet came here and they believed that he was the king of Luzon.
At this time, Deng Zilong could say without hesitation that the army he commanded was the strongest combat force on Luzon Island.
There are hundreds of Ming army officers and soldiers on his ship, and more than 6,000 local people are assisting in the battle. There is already a huge army of 7,000 people.
Such an army, even in the Ming Dynasty, would have required several guards to gather so many people.
Before, his own strength was weak, so Deng Zilong did not dare to fall out with the Yi people, but now that his men's weapons have expanded several times, he also has other ideas.
Is it possible to use this army to completely eliminate the barbarian expeditionary force after the Spaniards and Lin Feng pirate group fought hard, waiting for work?
Once such a plan succeeds, the number of barbarians on the island will be reduced to only three to four hundred people. Will it be possible to fulfill Mr. Wei Ge's final wish and completely control Luzon and become the new territory of the Ming Dynasty.
Just when Deng Zilong was calculating the feasibility of this plan in his mind,
Lin Baihu had already seen Deng Zilong in the distance. He said a few words to the soldiers behind him, and then the man said something to the local man. said something.
Soon, a group of people who got off the boat first came towards Deng Zilong in a mighty manner.
"See your lord."
As the person approached, Lin Baihu first saluted Deng Zilong.
Deng Zilong's title in the guard post was "Guard Commander Qian Shi", which was many ranks higher than that of a hundred households. His military rank was also higher than his. He was also the commander of their fleet, so he was naturally very polite.
Who is called the Admiral’s beloved general? Even though he is a newbie, Yu Dayou still thinks highly of him. This is the result of someone above him.
“Get up.”
Deng Zilong raised his hand to support him and said.
After the ceremony was over, Lin Baihu immediately introduced the people following him to Deng Zilong.
"Sir, this is King Bakr of Sulu, a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. This time I heard that our dynasty sent people to encircle and suppress pirates, so I brought my army to help."
Although these vassal states have no respect for the Ming Dynasty. To put it bluntly, he is really the kind of person who cannot be put on the stage, but his level is also very high.
The king of an independent vassal state has the same position as a prince. Deng Zilong cannot hold him in his arms and must salute him.
Just when Deng Zilong was pretending to salute, Bakeer had already waved his hand and said: "Today I am here to help the Celestial Empire capture the pirates. When you get here, you will obey General Deng's orders.
As for the king, here It’s not Sulu country, so naturally it doesn’t pay attention to these things.”
Having said this, Bakker also took two steps forward excitedly, and was already very close to Deng Zilong.
I saw his eyes were a little red and said: "According to the things passed down from the family, the Celestial Empire has not sent anyone to Sulu Country for more than a hundred years. If I hadn't met General Lin, I would have thought that the Celestial Empire had already sent someone to Sulu Country. We, the overseas vassals, have forgotten.
It is also because we are not living up to our expectations. There is no large sea crossing ship in China, otherwise we would not have been able to pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty for more than a hundred years. .
This time I came with General Lin, hoping that when General Deng leads his troops in victory, he can take me with him to the Ming Dynasty to meet His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. "
Baker said this. Although he may not be very loyal to the Ming Dynasty, in the current treacherous situation in Nanyang, if he cannot hug the thick thigh of the Ming Dynasty court tightly, he is really worried that the Spaniards will attack him.
Although there are only a thousand Spaniards in Luzon, the Spaniards came to spy on Sulu before, so they naturally found out the Spaniards' details.
I know that only a very small number of Spaniards have come here now. Their main energy is still in the east. It is said that there is a more vast land.
Well, it is not the country of their Spaniards there, but further east, far, far away, is the country where they were born.
This alone made Bakr realize that the situation in Nanyang will become even worse in the future.
The source is the barbarians who keep coming.
Being able to travel far across the ocean to reach the continent to the east, and also be able to occupy it.
According to the information he learned, there were many countries there that were far more powerful than his Sulu country, but they were all conquered by the Spanish.
The legend of the Inca Empire is even more talked about by the Spaniards.
Baker was really frightened.
He was eager to meet the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and express his loyalty to him, hoping to gain protection from the powerful suzerain country of the Ming Dynasty.
At first, Bakir did not think of coming in person. He only planned to send two of his generals to follow.
But when he was waiting for the army to gather and prepare food, he remembered what his old father-in-law said.
Actually, this was not what he thought of, but what the princess, the authentic Sulu royal family, mentioned.
Early on, the king of Sulu went to the Ming Dynasty in person. After the Ming Dynasty fleet arrived, the king sent envoys to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and each time he gained a lot.
Most of the treasures collected at home were gifts from the Ming Emperor at that time. They are really exquisite. Therefore, the Sulu royal family has this tradition, which is to remind the next successor of this matter. As long as the Ming Dynasty court fleet arrives, they must send envoys with local products to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
While getting closer, you can also get many benefits.
This is the thinking of small countries. They can only try to take advantage of big countries, and they must also show loyalty to gain protection from big countries to ensure that their throne can be passed on.
With this matter in mind, Bucker decided to come in person.
Use the preparation time to arrange matters in the country. As long as he can gain the friendship of Ming officials and go to Ming to meet His Majesty the Ming Emperor, then he will be as stable as Mount Tai in Sulu.
Sulu people actually have legends about the Ming Empire, and occasionally they can encounter merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty passing by.
As long as Ming Dynasty supports him, no one in the country will dare to covet his throne and can only obey his orders.
This is the influence of a big country.
Even if you do nothing, it will subtly affect the political atmosphere in neighboring small states.
Deng Zilong had a brief exchange with Bakeer politely, got to know the two generals Bakeer brought, and took them to the tent that had been prepared long ago.
On their trip to Nanyang this time, they had no arrangements to contact the king of the vassal country, so naturally there would be no tents that could meet the etiquette requirements.
The tent prepared for Bakir is already the largest among the tents they came to bring.
They were tired from traveling, so Deng Zilong only prepared hot water for them to wash up, and then let them rest first. He also prepared a sumptuous banquet for them in the evening.
Deng Zilong just personally settled Bakker and his party. As for the Sulu soldiers he brought, they were naturally arranged by the military supply people below. The large amounts of grain and grass brought by the Sulu Kingdom were also moved into the military grain depot.
After that, Deng Zilong took Lin Baihu to his camp. He wanted to learn in detail everything that happened during their trip.
There was something wrong when he led troops to encircle and suppress pirates, but the king of the other party came in person.
In the big tent, someone brought tea to Lin Baihu, asked him to drink some water, and ate two snacks, and then he began to understand the situation.
Although, Deng Zilong has learned about their previous experiences in detail.
However, when they were still asking about their experiences, Miguel came with the boat.
He could only arrange in a hurry how to fool the barbarians without understanding the situation in detail.
Yes, when Miguel arrived, the navy warship that came back to report had already met them and was brought back here.
Deng Zilong was very stupid and did not tell the news that five thousand troops were about to arrive, which naturally caused the Spaniards to make some misjudgments.
In fact, if the Spaniards really knew that the Ming Dynasty had contacted Sulu to send troops and already had an army of 7,000 people in the Philippines, it is hard to say what they would choose to do.
After all, they have already experienced the influence and appeal of Ming Dynasty, so it is hard to say if they have no other thoughts.
Calling more than a thousand people is more or less within their acceptable range.
"Did King Bakr say he wanted to follow him at the beginning?"
After listening carefully to Lin Baihu's account of their experiences during this period, Deng Zilong directly asked the question he had been thinking about for a long time.
"This."
Lin Baihu hesitated for a moment and then replied: "Sir, on that day, King Bakr did not say that he would come with me. He only said that he would send two people from the country. A general came with me with his troops.
The same happened the next day, but in the evening, when he held another banquet in the palace to entertain the general, he mentioned this matter and said that he wanted to bring the troops here in person. .
After the Lin Feng pirate group is surrounded and suppressed, we still want to return to the Ming Dynasty with our fleet to pay tribute to the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
They also said that they had not paid tribute for many years and were worried that the Ming Dynasty had forgotten them, so they planned to go to the Ming Dynasty in person to tell them about the situation in these years. It was not that their Sulu country was unwilling to pay tribute, but that they lacked large ships to cross the sea.
The general really didn’t know how to respond to his request, so he had no choice but to bring the person over. ”
“It doesn’t matter. "
Deng Zilong waved and smiled, indicating that he didn't have anything to worry about.
The vassal states went to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. In fact, the Ming Dynasty never refused and treated them with courtesy, so there was no taboo.
“Do you think the country of Sulu is stable these days?”
Deng Zilong asked again.
“It’s not bad. At the end of the preparation period, the general and his men visited the King’s Capital of Sulu. It felt quite prosperous, and I didn’t hear of any chaos or signs of rebellion in the country.”
Lin Baihu said immediately.
In his eyes, the Sulu Kingdom is actually pretty good. At least it can be regarded as a peaceful country and a peaceful people. The people seem to be very loyal to their king.
As for the original two kings, they were not passed down due to various reasons. The system of three kings coexisting in the past became the dictatorship of one king.
However, this system is actually more in line with the thoughts of people like Lin Baihu.
Both the government and local people in the Ming Dynasty actually believed in the saying that there are no two days in the sky.
How could the small country of Sulu have three kings standing side by side?
Of course, this is what the people below think. If it is a cabinet minister, whether it is Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde, or anyone else, they will not think so.
For the foreign vassals, the more things the better, for the king, the more the better, so that their strength will be shared and become weaker, and they must rely on Ming for everything.
Wei Guangde was able to convince the powerful people inside and outside the palace because Mang Yinglong had almost unified the southeastern peninsula. If he was allowed to continue to develop, he would not be allowed to look toward the northeast when he finished occupying the peninsula. The direction of Ming Dynasty.
We can no longer cause trouble by raising tigers.
No matter how much the Ming officials looked down on the southwest barbarians, they also knew that they should try their best to prevent them from becoming bigger and becoming a factor affecting the stability of the southwest of the Ming Dynasty.
Wei Guangde had arranged the Liaodong General Army. After spending so much effort, it was natural that it would have practical results. The best situation would be to divide the Toungu dynasty and restore them to their original appearance.
"Has everyone settled down?"
Deng Zilong looked at his quartermaster and asked.
"The soldiers of Sulu Kingdom are all arranged to camp in the north, which is far away from here."
The man immediately answered with cupped fists.
"Go ahead and keep your mouth shut. Don't let anything slip when Miguel comes."
Deng Zilong just ordered.
As for Bucker's arrival, well, this is not something he should care about.
When Yu Dayou comes, let him make arrangements.
Deng Zilong thought this.