Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 297 Recapture the port, the dragon awakens!
The Portuguese mission's posture.

This made Ming Dynasty officials such as Gao Gong and Liu Wenzhen deeply understand a truth.

When you are strong, the whole world will be kind to you.

By losing the Strait of Malacca, Portugal not only lost the pricing power for Eastern goods, but also lost the possibility of continuing to expand its colonies to the eastern part of the world.

Although colonial expansion had long reached its limit given Portugal's own population, the Portuguese royal family refused to acknowledge this and used persistent foreign wars to cover up the fierce internal conflicts in Portugal.

Battle at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca.

It awakened the Portuguese navy known as the "Imperial Fleet" and also made the Portuguese Governor's Office in India and all Portuguese naval officers and soldiers witness the collapse of the empire.

Sheffield, the Governor of the Portuguese Viceroyalty in India, was unwilling to fight the Ming navy again, as that would greatly accelerate the collapse of the empire.

The powerlessness of the light sailing ship in the face of the heavy sailing ship is so profound that it is despairing.

Similarly, the Portuguese soldiers were unwilling to die. Their fear of war became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Portuguese Empire.

Alfonso Jr.'s excessive respect and flattery still made Gao Gong smell something unusual, but it was obviously not suitable for a deep discussion at this time. Gao Gong believed that after the negotiations, Alfonso Jr. would take the initiative to come to him.

Gao Gong shook his head and said in a calm tone, "I'm sorry, Duke Alfonso, our dynasty and your country have lost the most friendly opportunity for cooperation.

The Malacca Kingdom was once a vassal state of our dynasty. It was once destroyed by your country. The territory was controlled and profited by your country for as long as fifty years.

Not long ago, our dynasty received a request for restoration of the country from the descendant of the Mahmud Shah family, who is now the King of Malacca, or more appropriately called the Prince of our dynasty, the Chivalrous King Ma Xiangming.

Bearing in mind the past vassal relationship, our dynasty sent a navy to the Strait of Malacca to negotiate with your fleet, striving to resolve the dispute peacefully.

But unfortunately, the Ru fleet directly fired at our navy's warships, and our navy was forced to fight back and destroyed the Ru fleet in the battle.

In this way, we were able to help the Malacca Kingdom complete its restoration. The Strait of Malacca has been an integral part of our dynasty since ancient times. The people of Malacca, who had suffered greatly under your country's colonial rule, finally chose to return to the embrace of our dynasty permanently.

However, our dynasty and our people will never forget the heavy day when Malacca was overthrown by your conspiracy! "

The State of Malacca and the people of Malacca completely became the territory and people of the Ming Dynasty.

These powerful words, in the name of justice, an angry questioning of Portugal's illegal occupation of the Strait of Malacca for the past fifty years.

Having said this, Gao Gong slammed his fist heavily on the long table, and also on the hearts of everyone in the Portuguese delegation.

Little Alfonso was horrified.

Pedro, the deputy envoy of the Portuguese mission, and other members of the mission were also frightened after hearing the translation.

Nearly half of Portugal's power in the east of the world has been destroyed by the Ming navy. Whether it is the Governor-General's Office of India or even the Portuguese royal family thousands of miles away, what they are most worried about at this moment is undoubtedly the Ming declaring war on Portugal.

This is not because they are afraid that the Ming navy will travel thousands of miles to attack the Portuguese mainland, but that Portugal is not ready to have its false disguise of strength torn apart in front of the world.

In the minds of the Portuguese, European countries are like African hyenas, ready to pounce on Portugal and bite it at any time. Portugal is afraid of being "crushed".

However, as the first country to start the competition for world hegemony, Portugal knows how to resolve major disputes in relations between countries.

Even though Portugal knew that the actions of the Ming Dynasty were not as righteous as Gao Gong said, and even though it knew that the Ming Dynasty was powerful and was settling accounts and extortion for the past, it had to accept it with tears.

Just like the Portuguese fleet arrived in South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and achieved colonial rule over the local indigenous peoples with its powerful ships and guns, it had no confidence to fight back.

A weak country has no diplomacy!
Alfonso the Younger did not consult with the delegation and immediately stated: "Our country is willing to compensate your country and the people of Malacca for the losses and damages caused."

Pedro, the deputy envoy, instinctively wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

The Ming court made preparations for war or compensation!
Portugal absolutely did not want the two countries to declare war, so its only option was to pay compensation.

Although Alfonso Jr. was very humble, there was nothing wrong with the decision he made.

Gao Gong shook his head again. Portugal still did not understand that what the Ming Dynasty wanted was "war", "or" and "compensation".

Pretending to sigh, he said, "I'm sorry, Duke Alfonso. There is an old saying in our dynasty, 'When a general is away from home, he may not obey the orders of the emperor.' Just before the negotiations began, our cabinet received news that our navy commander Xiong Wencan was kind-hearted and could not bear to see the suffering of the people. He was deeply moved by the suffering of the people in Malacca, our territory, and he led the navy to attack the Governor's Mansion nearby. If the time is right, he must have arrived in Goa City by now."

I don’t know if it was something that Deputy Prime Minister Hu Zongxian did, but Xiong Wencan, knowing that he was going to die, went “crazy”.

After usurping the authority of His Majesty, the Cabinet and the Imperial Court to agree to Malacca's request for annexation, he immediately set sail and launched an attack on Portugal's ports on the South Asian subcontinent and the Portuguese Governor-General's Office in India.

His repeated self-assertion made many court officials see the shadow of Li Chengliang in Xiong Wencan, and the voices of impeachment became louder.

But the Yuxi Palace knew, the Cabinet knew, and the Jinyiwei knew that Xiong Wencan had not done anything to win over the naval officers and soldiers, nor had he rewarded the naval officers and soldiers with the gold and silver obtained from Malacca. Instead, he sealed everything and left it for court officials to check.

The cabinet's judgment was that Xiong Wencan believed that since he was going to die, he might as well do something big.

Before little Alfonso could respond, Pedro stood up and asked in a lost voice, "What?"

Once the Strait of Malacca was lost, the Governor-General of India could not help but be on guard against the Ming Navy. I am afraid that as soon as the Ming Navy warships set sail, the Governor-General of India would get the news.

But now, the Ming court received news that the commander of the navy had marched forward secretly, but they in the capital of the Ming Dynasty did not receive any news from the Governor's Office.

It was obvious that major changes had occurred in Portugal's ports on the South Asian subcontinent and its colonies in India, so much so that the Governor's Office had no time to report the news.

Little Alfonso frowned slightly, looked at Gao Gong, and asked calmly: "Dear Prime Minister, does this mean that your country is going to declare war on our country?"

"Do not."

Gao Gong shook his head again, looked at little Alfonso, and said meaningfully: "Please believe Duke Alfonso that this is just the private behavior of our navy commander. Our emperor, the cabinet, and the court do not agree with it. After this incident, our dynasty will recall the bold navy commander Xiong Wencan and impose severe punishment on him."

Little Alfonso's eyes lit up and he said, "Thank you, Prime Minister, for your advice. I understand."

"How about putting the negotiations aside until next time?"

"These past few days, I've also learned an old saying from the Ming Dynasty: 'It's all up to you!'"

……

India, Goa.

The artillery batteries on the shore fired rounds of artillery fire at the warships of the Ming navy in the sea!
In the sea, rounds of artillery fire from the Ming navy warships blasted towards the artillery positions on the shore!
About a mile to the left of the fort was a large beach, where numerous small boats were lowered from numerous naval warships, and were full of naval officers and soldiers, brandishing swords and roaring, rowing towards the beach. When approaching the beach, the Ming naval officers and soldiers on the small boats jumped into the shallow water one after another, shouting and rushing towards the beach.

On the beach, Sheffield, the Governor of the Portuguese Governorate in India, was sitting on his horse, and behind him were the only remaining naval officers of Portugal in the East.

The two armies had already fought another naval battle at Daman and Diu, and the result was self-evident.

The disadvantage of light sailing ships was magnified again. A mere few dozen light sailing ships were no match for more than 800 heavy sailing ships.

In the Battle of Diu, the Ming Navy's warships were even unscathed.

This completely shattered Sheffield's determination.

At this time, they stood there quietly, without any sound from the people or the horses, just looking at the Ming army that was getting closer and closer.

Four hundred meters, three hundred meters, two hundred meters!
The solemn faces of the Ming army were clearly visible. Sheffield, whose heart was broken, was unwilling to surrender. He drew the saber given to him by the former king of Portugal and shouted, "For the glory of the empire, kill!"

More than 10,000 Portuguese soldiers lit the fuse of their muskets, the fuse ignited the black gunpowder, and the bullets loaded in the gun barrels were fired in an instant, with a loud bang.

The Ming Navy was originally Hu Zongxian's Southeast Navy. Qi Jiguang's "Mandarin Duck Formation" was a military formation that was ingrained in all the navy officers and soldiers.

Rattan shield bearers, long spear bearers, and short knife bearers were divided into groups of nine. Countless "mandarin duck formations" advanced forward with heavy steps amid the hail of bullets.

The matchlock gun, which was said to be unbreakable by any defense, finally met its match. The bullets shot through the rattan shields with sharp force.

But that was all. The bullet that broke through the rattan shield hit the armored bearer behind it, leaving only a deep mark on the chain mail.

Apart from a few dozen unlucky people who were hit in the face without any armor protection, causing some casualties, the matchlock muskets had no other success.

But these casualties were completely insignificant in the war and did not affect the advance of the Ming navy at all.

As for the "thunderous roar" caused by the firing of the projectile, the Portuguese naval officers and soldiers were affected more than the navy officers and soldiers.

Thirty breaths later, the Portuguese naval officers and soldiers loaded the projectiles again, lit the fuse, fired the projectiles, and the deafening roar sounded again.

This time, due to the closer distance, the effective killing power of the Portuguese naval officers and soldiers was greatly improved, and hundreds of rattan shield soldiers were shot in the face and fell down.

But, it's all over.

The naval officers and soldiers had already arrived in front of the Portuguese naval officers and soldiers. The close distance made the matchlock guns even become a burden, and the hand-to-hand combat officially began.

The naval officers and soldiers stood in a triangle and rushed towards the Portuguese naval officers and soldiers in front.

The person running wildly in the front row on the left with a knife in hand was Xiong Wencan.

The person on the right who was running first with a knife in hand was Ding Qirui.

The army's main general and deputy general actually led the troops and rushed into the enemy's camp like wolves and tigers.

The weapons engaged in close combat and the sound of killing shook the sky.

The gap of several times in troop strength made it impossible for the Portuguese army to maintain its formation, and it was torn apart by the navy in a blink of an eye.

According to the original plan, the naval soldiers who tore apart the enemy's formation rushed to the rocks on the hillside below the fort, and then swarmed towards the fort like a colony of ants.

The Portuguese soldiers on the artillery battery fired guns, shot arrows, and threw javelins at the Ming army that were climbing up.

But countless Ming troops gathered more and more, getting closer and closer to the fort, and the Portuguese fort position was lost.

The Governor of India, Sheffield, looked at the flag on the thick wooden flagpole of the fort position. In the center of the flag was a pointed arch shield-shaped emblem with eleven castles with red lace. On the top of the shield was an open crown, representing the fallen flag of the kingdom. He knew that Portugal had lost.

After three battles at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca, one battle at Diu, and one battle at Goa, Portugal lost everything in the East.

At this moment, the sound of cannons, roars of killing, and the sound of weapons clashing seemed to be very far away from him. His vision was blurry and in a trance, he seemed to see again the day when the late king bestowed the title on him and entrusted him with the post of Governor-General of India.

Several columns of artillery fire rose into the sky from the artillery positions, awakening Sheffield. The previous king was dead, and the country was in constant internal strife. The awakened Eastern dragon showed its fangs.

The Portuguese Empire collapsed.

As a staunch supporter of the royal family and a believer in "Portugal supremacy", Sheffield knew very well that when a country benefits from the struggle for world hegemony, it will not stop easily.

The Strait of Malacca, Diu, Daman and other Indian ports, this is not the end of the Ming Dynasty army, nor even the beginning of the end, but it may be the end of the beginning.

Sheffield thought of the royal family thousands of miles away, and also of Alfonso the Younger who was sent as an envoy to Portugal... This guy who believed that Portugal should be handed over to foreign management suddenly felt a little regretful that he should not have sent that guy on the envoy mission.

"Protect the Governor!" shouted a Portuguese general.

Many Portuguese soldiers raised their swords and spears to block the knives and swords swung at Sheffield, as well as the gunfire and arrows shot at him.

But soon they all fell down and died tragically at Sheffield's feet.

At this time, the charm of the military merit of "beheading the general" was fully demonstrated by the navy officers and soldiers.

Sheffield no longer regretted it. His eyes were attracted by a burly figure. The two pairs of eyes met, and after a glance, they confirmed that they were each other's target.

With a long roar, Xiong Wencan raised his sword high in both hands and leaped into the air to chop towards Sheffield!
Sheffield swung his saber towards his head. With a "clang" sound, a flash of fire appeared from the collision of the two sabers, and Xiong Wencan's body suddenly stopped in the air. The saber and his body weight were pressed against his head by Sheffield's saber.

The two pairs of eyes were less than a foot apart, and they looked at each other for a brief moment.

Sheffield's saber moved first, giving up the so-called defense, and the tip of the knife pointed towards Xiong Wencan's heart.

A trace of fear flashed across Xiong Wencan's eyes, but it soon turned into a smile, and he slashed the knife towards Sheffield's left neck.

Pierce the heart!

The owl's head!

On the fort and on the beach, there was dead silence.

In November of the 41st year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, the commander of the navy, Xiong Wencan, led his troops in Goa and fought with Sheffield, the Portuguese governor of India, and died for his country. His loyalty and bravery were unparalleled!
(End of this chapter)