Chapter 927: Waiting for the Hare

The sea breeze blew gently.

Golden sunlight spread across the blue sea surface, as if a layer of gold powder had been scattered upon it.

Departing from Banbu, the fleet took one day to arrive at Manila, the capital of Luzon.

"I wonder if those two lads, Miao An and Niu Qiang, can handle the job; I hope they don't stir up any trouble." On the deck of the flagship, Song Xiang and Zhou Yi stood side by side, holding telescopes to observe the port of Manila.

Song Xiang couldn't help but ask at this moment.

If they were to surround Manila without attacking, the supply point of Banbu would still be very important.

Zhou Yi smiled; he knew well that the generals must be feeling puzzled as to why he had handed Banbu over to Miao An and Niu Qiang.

Thus, he explained, "They are working under the watchful eyes of the Marine Corps; if any slip-ups occur, the Marine commanders will rectify them in time."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "The main issue is that, according to the wishes of Yan Wang, we need to cultivate some young and energetic Overseas Song People, which will be of great benefit to Dayan Wang's control over the entire Southern Region in the future."

Song Xiang nodded upon hearing this.

He was a pure naval commander, responsible only for fighting.

Yet their General Zhou Yi considered far more issues alongside Yan Wang.

After the two finished speaking, they looked toward Manila once more.

Unlike the completely defenseless Banbu, the Folangji garrison in Manila had clearly received a warning.

The merchant ships and warships at the pier had disappeared, but figures were moving about the artillery at the pier.

"It seems the Folangji soldiers who fled from Banbu brought the news of Banbu's capture here." Zhou Yi's mouth curled upward, "Hehe, let them spend the coming days in terror."

Immediately, he ordered the warships to surround the entire Manila port and wait quietly for changes at sea.

At the same time.

Inside an artillery fort at the Manila port, a pair of eyes was also staring at the Great Song Navy fleet.

These eyes belonged to the Folangji Governor Ferrero.

At this moment, he was in his military uniform, wearing a sailing cap, with fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"Damn it, is that bastard Ma Fu'er an idiot? Why would he let the Great Song Navy fleet appear here?" Ferrero cursed incessantly.

Since Dayan Wang seized Yizhou, this was the first time he felt that the position of Folangji Governor of Luzon was so uncomfortable.

When the news of Yizhou's fall arrived at that time, he immediately built fortifications in Manila and sent warships to deliver the news back to the Frankish Kingdom.

At the same time, he actively contacted the Stedan people, the British, and the Frankish people, hoping to receive support.

Fortunately, the British Governor Bolt chose to support him.

The four countries formed a small Joint Fleet in the East Land Southern Region to patrol the waters and protect their colonies.

In this state of quasi-war, they actively prepared for battle and spent ten months.

Finally, the Joint Fleet arrived.

The Frankish Kingdom dispatched eighteen Sailing Warships and ten thousand soldiers.

They also provided Manila with a large number of muskets and Artillery to arm their indigenous troops in Luzon.

They originally had twenty thousand soldiers in Luzon.

This brought the total strength of the Folangji in the East Land to thirty thousand.

The number of warships also expanded from eight to twenty-six.

It was just that the supporting forces had to obey the command of the Coalition for the time being.

But even so, he felt relieved.

The Coalition promised to protect the interests of Xitu Guo in the East Land,

which naturally included those of the Folangji.

With the powerful Coalition as a backer, they could finally sleep soundly at night.

However, he never expected that just as the Coalition navy was preparing to deceive the Great Song Navy fleet into heading toward Moro Island,

the Great Song Navy fleet appeared here instead.

The day before yesterday, they even captured the small city of Banbu at the northernmost tip of Luzon.

"I hope those bastards in the Coalition navy can come quickly." Ferrero cursed again.

He did not foolishly keep the eight Sailing Warships stationed in Manila.

Instead, he had them pass through the central part of Luzon, which was filled with islands, to head toward the Moro direction from there to find the Coalition navy.

"God bless them not to launch an attack immediately." Seeing that the Great Song Navy was only surrounding the port and not taking immediate action, Ferrero muttered again.

He believed that the Great Song Navy fleet must be waiting for the arrival of more soldiers.

After all, according to his observations, the Great Song Troop Transport Ships did not seem to be able to carry many soldiers.

After calming down a little, he inspected the Trench fortifications dug along the Manila port.

Inside the Trench, besides the vigilant Folangji soldiers, there were also Luzon indigenous troops wearing gray uniforms.

Just like the Stedan, British, and Frankish people.

After conquering the countries in the East Land Southern Region, they all made the same decision.

That was to form an indigenous army based on their own troops to maintain their colonial rule over the Southern Region countries.

This was because the Southern Region was only one of their colonies, and they could only maintain a small number of troops.

But to rule such a large country, these forces were clearly far from enough.

Thus, all colonies, including the East Land Southern Region, had the scene of a small number of Xitu Guo troops commanding a large number of indigenous troops.

In the past, he had never valued these indigenous troops.

But now, he was very glad that Luzon still had an indigenous army of eighty thousand.

In order to make these indigenous troops follow them to resist Yan Wang,

during this period, he not only increased the treatment of the indigenous soldiers but also promised many benefits to the indigenous officers and generals.

Even for the King of Luzon, Baduge, who had been reduced to a figurehead by them, he agreed.

As long as he could use the King's influence to incite the people of Luzon to work together with the Folangji to resist the Great Song, he would grant the royal family more favorable treatment.

Having inspected the Folangji soldiers and the native soldiers, Ferrero felt a bit more at ease.

Ordering his subordinate Colonel to keep an eye on the Great Song fleet, he returned to the Governor's Mansion.

……

At this moment, in the East Sea of Luzon, eight Folangji warships were heading in the direction of Moro Island.

To their northeast, a Steamship was also rushing toward Moro Island at maximum speed.

This Steamship was the very same one that had encountered the Great Song Warship in the South Sea of Yizhou.

After three days of sailing, the Steamship arrived at the port of Moro Island.

The news was delivered into the hands of Ma Fu'er, who was waiting for news on Moro Island.

"The Great Song fleet is heading to Luzon?" Upon receiving the news, Ma Fu'er's expression changed, and he immediately spread out a rough nautical chart to mark the position of the Great Song fleet.

"During this time, we have already left enough traces to show that we are in the east; this is truly strange," Admiral Powell of the Sam Country said, feeling very puzzled.

"There are two possibilities: either their naval commander is too stupid, or they are deliberately disrupting our pace to force us into a decisive battle with them," Ma Fu'er pondered for a moment and said slowly.

"Judging by the performance of the Great Song Navy, their commander does not seem stupid, so that leaves the second possibility," Admiral Keweiduo of the Frank Navy said, "This is truly a vicious scheme; if we ignore them, they will take the opportunity to seize Luzon, or even other countries in the Southern Region."