Total War: Restoration of the Ming Dynasty in Luzon

Zhu Jiheng then looked at Zhou and Shen, ordering them to assist Lin Qingyuan and to begin guiding public opinion in the city. He instructed them to use this regency ceremony to convey to the people that the Ming dynasty was not yet over and that Luzon was still the base for the revival of the Ming dynasty, thus boosting morale and public spirit.

The three men accepted the order and left. Although they failed to achieve their initial goal of having Zhu Jiheng ascend the throne, they were able to assume the position of regent, which could be considered as completing half of their objective.

The news that Zhu Jiheng would be appointed regent spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of Luzon, which undoubtedly boosted the morale of the people, which had been low due to the fall of Dongning.

Since his arrival in Luzon, Crown Prince Lu's performance has been evident to all. This young prince is a man of great talent and ambition, uniting the local people and employing both kindness and force to conquer Manila and expel the Westerners, demonstrating extraordinary military ability and political skill.

Now that he has been appointed regent and has adopted the Ming dynasty's calendar, overseas Chinese have seen hope for the restoration of their nation and have a tangible means of support.

Under the deliberate guidance of Shen and Zhou, the public opinion in the city quickly shifted. In teahouses and taverns, people no longer whispered and lamented negative topics such as "Dongning has fallen, the Ming Dynasty is finished." Instead, they looked forward to the regency ceremony of the Prince of Lu and where he would set his sights next.

As the grand ceremony of the Regent was in full swing, the intelligence system under Zhang San's command began to send back messages from various directions.

In northern Taiwan, after the Qing army took over the prefectures and counties controlled by Dongning, as in history, they did not attach great importance to Taiwan and did not formally establish prefectures or send officials to govern it.

However, news of Zhu Jiheng and his family's escape was still reported, and arrest warrants with his portrait were posted all over Taiwan. The Qing navy also intensified its search of ships entering and leaving the Taiwan Strait.

It seems that the Qing court was unaware of what was happening in Luzon, and knew nothing about Zhu Jiheng's escape to Luzon. The speed at which they gathered intelligence made Zhu Jiheng want to complain.

In the West, the war between the Trinh and Nguyen lords in Vietnam remained deadlocked, with neither side able to attend to other matters. Chinese merchants traveling between ports such as Quang Nam were well-informed and mostly adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards the Minh regime in Luzon.

However, some of the Ming Zheng merchants who had also fled from Taiwan changed their routes after hearing the news and prepared to go to Luzon to find out the truth.

The news from the south was the most complicated and also the most alarming to Zhu Jiheng.

The Dutch East India Company reacted strongly to the change of control of Manila, and the Batavia Governor's Office has ordered increased security and dispatched several fast ships to scout the situation in Luzon.

The Dutch and Spanish were competitors in Southeast Asia. The fall of Manila weakened Spanish power to some extent, which benefited the Dutch.

But they are more concerned about the rise of a powerful, potentially xenophobic Chinese regime in Luzon, which could threaten the Netherlands’ dominant position in trade throughout the Spice Islands and the South China Sea.

More importantly, Batavia also has a large Chinese diaspora, and the Chinese there are also an exploited group. The Dutch were worried that the Chinese in Luzon would use this as a pretext to declare war on them and send troops to attack Batavia.

Ironically, the Dutch initially planned to aid Zhu Jiheng's anti-Spanish forces, enabling him to fight against the Spanish and slowly bleed them dry.

Before the prepared weapons and supplies could be sent out, news arrived that the Chinese had captured Manila, and the speed of the Spanish collapse alarmed them.

The Spanish in Cebu were in a state of panic and chaos. News of the fall of Manila, the death of the governor, and the surrender of Cavite followed one after another, which dampened the morale of the Spanish second-largest stronghold in the Philippines.

Although Cebu's top commander, Colonel Salcedo, claimed he would hold out for reinforcements and requested assistance from the New Mexico Governor's Office, the arrival of reinforcements remained uncertain.

The Spanish, mixed-race, and pro-Spanish natives in the city were restless, and some boats had already secretly fled.

In addition, the various indigenous tribes and sultanates on the islands had different attitudes. Some gloated over the fall of the Spanish and adopted a wait-and-see attitude, while others worried that the new Ming regime would be more powerful than the Spanish.

Some even went so far as to wage war directly against the remaining Spanish forces, attempting to drive the Spanish completely out to sea.

Zamboanga, Iloilo, Caracas and other places that had previously received conscription orders were attacked by the Moroes. Since more than half of the garrison had boarded ships to go to Manila, the strongholds were poorly defended and quickly fell to the Moroes. All the Spaniards inside were slaughtered.

The Spanish troops who set sail to reinforce Manila received news of Manila's fall before they were even halfway there. They turned back to return to their respective strongholds, only to find that the strongholds had already fallen and been occupied by the Moroes.

These poor Spaniards had no choice but to change course and head to Cebu, seeking refuge with Colonel Salcedo, where they awaited reinforcements from New Mexico.

Based on intelligence from various sources, the situation in the surrounding area is now very clear.

In the short term, there is little direct military threat from the Manchus. Even if the Qing court knew that he had raised an army in Luzon, it would be powerless to send troops across the sea to launch a distant expedition.

The situation in the Southeast Asia region is complex. The Dutch are the biggest potential enemy. The remnants of the Spanish in Cebu are already preoccupied with their own problems. The surrounding indigenous forces will help them deal with the Spanish, leaving them unable to launch a counterattack.

However, even though the Spanish in Cebu were too preoccupied with their own problems to fight back, Zhu Jiheng was not prepared to let them off the hook.

The saying goes, "To cut the weeds, you must remove the roots." He couldn't possibly leave such a hidden danger by his side.

Moreover, Cebu, as Spain's second largest stronghold in the Philippines, although not as important as Manila, had accumulated considerable wealth and resources. Taking it would not only completely eliminate Spanish influence but also replenish their own treasury.

Moreover, the attack on Cebu was also a show of force to the surrounding powers that were watching from the sidelines, and it helped to establish the authority of the Luzon Regency in the Philippine archipelago.

Therefore, Zhu Jiheng ordered Zhang San to send men to infiltrate Cebu to investigate the strength and weakness of the garrison, and to find out the city's troop strength, defense arrangements, and food reserves.

Because it was the Chinese who conquered Manila, the Spanish in Cebu are now highly sensitive to the Chinese and are on edge.

The Chinese in the city faced dire circumstances. The existing Chinese communities were shut down, and the Chinese residents were either detained, shot, or expelled from the city.

Although Zhang San had recruited Europeans, mixed-race people, or indigenous people as spies during this period, he mainly recruited Chinese. The Chinese spies he sent out were detained and interrogated before they even entered Hong Kong.

Left with no other option, Zhang San had to withdraw all the Chinese spies he had sent out and instead send spies with non-Eastern features to infiltrate Cebu.

The Spanish were indeed less wary of them, and after questioning them about where they came from, they let them into the city.