Chapter 820: The Spanish Grand Game

The Mongols?

When Zheng Jiangong heard what Suke Moriie said, he felt as if he had crossed through time and space!

Still, he quickly understood what had happened.

"It was Spain and the Qing who did it!" Zheng Jiangong shook his head and laughed. "The Spanish pulled the Qing in to oppose our Great Ming, but they didn't want to fly their own banner, so they used the name of the Mongol nation. The Qing emperor has a bit of Mongol Golden Family blood, and the Mongol tribes of Inner and Outer Mongolia have also presented the Qing emperor with the title of Great Khan, so there is some connection there."

Suke Moriie asked, "Then why does your Great Ming borrow the name of our Japan to fight the Qing and the Spanish?"

Zheng Jiangong laughed. "We borrow Japan's name in order to fight the Spanish. As for the reason, it is of course the same as why the Spanish borrowed the name of the Mongol nation."

"Why is that?" Suke Moriie still did not understand. "Why do you do this?"

Zheng Jiangong said, "Of course it is to avoid a full-scale war. Great Ming and Spain are both very powerful and vast countries, and neither can occupy the other's homeland. Moreover, between the two countries there is not only a conflict of interest that requires a war, but also a common interest in maintaining a surface peace. For the benefit of both sides, Great Ming and Spain can only fight a sham war on the Pacific."

Zheng Jiangong had made progress too!

These days he had also been taking remedial lessons, though not in Prince Condé's tutoring class, but from Captain David Jones of the Flying, who tutored him and a group of mid- and senior-ranking Great Ming naval officers — not only in navigation and tactics, but also in the international situation and concerns of the West.

War is the continuation of politics, and the sea connects the whole world. Without understanding the world and the international political situation, one cannot be a good naval commander.

So Zheng Jiangong now understood why Spain wanted to intervene in the Ming-Qing war while at the same time doing everything possible to avoid a full-scale war with Great Ming.

Because intervening in the Ming-Qing war could slow the rise of Great Ming, and also bring high profits from the fur, pearl, and arms trade with the Qing.

And Great Ming was one of the most important trading partners of the Western powers — at present, trade between East and West was mainly sustained by silk, porcelain, spices, and cotton cloth. And the trade routes actually formed a circular loop; if any link in it went wrong, all the other parties participating in this "circle" would suffer losses.

Therefore the Dutch, Portuguese, and English, who all reaped high profits from East-West trade, would never allow Spain to completely blockade Great Ming's foreign trade. Even the Italian and German merchants standing behind the Spanish world empire would not support cutting off trade — because they needed the raw silk that Spain imported from China!

Therefore, unless absolutely forced to, Spain would not wage a full-scale war against Great Ming!

And Great Ming likewise did not want to fight a full-scale war.

The reason was simple: on land they could not reach Spain, and at sea they could not defeat it!

Before the Great Ming navy truly grew strong, the Great Ming court had to control the scale of any war with Spain. If they truly angered Philip IV and he sent two 1,000-ton ships to the western Pacific, then the Great Ming navy's days would become very difficult.

"Elder Suke," Zheng Jiangong said with a smile, "stay in Yupu City for a while. Once I have requested an imperial decree, I will send men to escort you back to Japan."

What? This matter still required an imperial decree?

Suke Moriie grew somewhat anxious. "The matter of Fuchū Castle—"

"Elder Suke, do not worry. I will personally lead the fleet to drive away the Mongol fleet there."

After saying this, Zheng Jiangong ordered his attendants to escort Suke Moriie to rest. He was not to go anywhere — just rest well!

"Vice Admiral Jones," Zheng Jiangong recounted what Suke had reported in Chinese, then asked David Jones, "The Spanish are at Izuhara Port on Tsushima Island. It is a very narrow harbor, with an entrance only about one li wide, and it has no large fort batteries covering it. We can blockade it first, then attack with fireships!"

David Jones was a tall Dutchman with a head of somewhat unkempt red hair. His face was a little fierce, his eyes always gleaming with menace, and he was very fond of beating and cursing the crew. All the Westerners aboard the Flying disliked him.

But he was an extremely capable captain — learned, highly skilled in navigation, and very solid in naval combat. And as long as he was paid enough, he was quite willing to pass on his knowledge to Chinese students like Zheng Jiangong. Moreover, he had a good gift for languages; he had not been in China very long, but he could already speak a little Chinese.

"Let's bottle up the Spanish first!" David Jones answered with a laugh. "With the Flying here, defeating the Spanish is not a problem, but their admiral is no fool, so catching them will not be easy. This time we'll sortie the Flying, the Dingyuan, the Zhenyuan, the Ningyuan, the Pingyuan, the Zhiyuan, and the Anyuan — seven square-rigged warships in all — and try our luck. Even if we don't catch them, it doesn't matter; we'll treat it as training."

Naval warfare is not something one can master in the classroom. One must go to sea, endure wind and waves, chase the enemy across the ocean, and grow amid battlefields thick with gun smoke!"

This veteran naval officer spoke well. In this age, excellent naval officers were all forged in practice; what one learned in the classroom was only an introduction.

"Admiral Oboi, we must leave Tsushima!"

Just as the seven sailing ships of the Great Ming navy were departing Yupu Harbor, the First Baturu of the Pacific, de Velasco, had already caught the scent of danger.

It was not that he could foresee the future, but that he knew his fleet was in constant danger at every moment!

The Great Ming navy's Flying was simply a monster in the western Pacific — a warship of 800 tons burden, which before joining the Great Ming navy had been an active warship of the Dutch provincial navy. Moreover, quite a few Dutch naval officers and veteran sailors had been hired by Great Ming to operate this Flying. It was no exaggeration to say that this single Flying was enough to destroy all five armed galleons of the Mongol nation's navy! The latter were merely medium-sized armed merchantmen, no match at all for an 800-ton warship.

So after de Velasco learned of the Flying's existence, he had written to the Council of the Indies in Madrid requesting reinforcements, hoping to obtain a warship of the same class.

Otherwise, Spain could only remain at a disadvantage in this "sham Pacific war."

"Very well," Oboi nodded with a smile. "I will have the men load the goods and treasure onto the ships at once!"

"There's no time," de Velasco shook his head. "We can leave Vice Admiral Shang with half the Elite Brigade to hold Fuchū Castle. We'll take 500 men aboard five square-rigged ships and leave. Those bird boats and sand boats can also stay at Tsushima and hide in the waters between the northern and southern islands."

"Is it that urgent?" Oboi laughed. "Fuchū Castle is very strong, and the harbor outside is narrow. As long as we place a few cannons on the battery near the entrance, it will be completely secure."

"No." De Velasco immediately shook his head. "Izuhara Port cannot be held at all. We should concentrate our limited strength at Fuchū Castle. But we must leave — we cannot let the fleet take the risk. And bring that Sō Yoshizane along too. We will sail around Japan, and on the way deliver Sō Yoshizane back to Edo."

"Deliver Sō Yoshizane back to Edo?" Oboi did not understand at once. "Why?"

"Of course, to promote the opening of Japan!" De Velasco said to Oboi. "This is an order from our Spanish court. Our king believes that promoting the opening of Japan will help spread the gospel of the Lord.

Moreover, given Japan's ambitions of more than fifty years ago, once it opens, it will quickly become a formidable rival to Great Ming in the eastern seas!"

So the Spanish could play a grand game of chess too — though who knew how the Tokugawa shogunate would regard the two vexing problems of Catholic evangelism and opening the country?

(End of Chapter)