Although the possibility of the Spaniards taking revenge was not high, the emperor did not take it lightly. And the three thousand well-trained and well-equipped troops were not something that the Spaniards thousands of miles away could compete with.

What's more, the Spanish got the news and organized an expeditionary force to rush to Luzon. The Ming armed forces in Luzon may have reached 5,000, or even more.

Even in terms of the strength of the navy, the Spaniards are no longer a rival to the Ming Navy. The highlight of the "Invincible Armada" has long passed. It is absolutely impossible to mobilize the national strength.

Li Dan was also very clear about this. It was not a long-term solution for regular troops to station in Luzon.

Therefore, he purchased five thousand flintlock fissures and dozens of artillery, and prepared to train at least three to five thousand armed forces with the help of retired officers and soldiers.

This is not only a possible revenge against the Spanish, but also a guarantee for future development of the foundation. Yan Siqi guessed correctly, Luzon could not satisfy Li Dan.

Of course, it depends on the situation. If Luzon's management is stable, he will naturally reach out to other islands. The emperor has already agreed to expand overseas and will help him.

Li Dan also had a wise understanding that with the population and naval power of Luzon, he left the support of his motherland, or betrayed the motherland's independence, demise was also destined.

Unless the country weakens and loses control over overseas. If so, the mainland may be invaded, so how can we talk about overseas places?

If you fall behind, you will be beaten, and if you are weak, you will be bullied. This is an unchanging truth.

If you want to protect overseas territory or prevent the local area from invasion, you can only start from the fundamentals and keep the country strong.

Although the cycle of prosperity and decline is an inevitable law of history, it is still possible to keep its decline to a certain extent and not get up from the bottom of the valley again.

The emperor's method was to make the cake bigger and to bring the local and overseas territories of the Ming Dynasty to a new height when he was in power.

The purpose of doing this is to leave a price to pay for future decline.

We can refer to the historical empire that has never set in the sun. Although it has weakened after two world wars, it can still remain among the world's strong powers, although it is not the first.

Moreover, the more overseas territory you occupy, the stronger the protection of the local area.

With the population of the Ming Dynasty and the expected population outbreak after a major disaster, the foundation will not be as unstable as the colonists, or they can only plunder and rule for a while, and cannot occupy it for a long time.

Now, the population of the Ming Empire accounts for about one-third of the world, but the actual territory is far from matching the population.

The army should be the world's number one, and the navy continues to grow and grow. There is no reason not to take the opportunity to compete for a broader living space for Damingzi.

Moreover, the emperor only focused on Asia and had no intention of entering the world within ten or twenty years.

The Western Barbarians, whether they are the Dutch, the Spanish, or the United Kingdom, which has just had some foundation in South Asia, are very weak in Asia.

The most important thing is that Western Yi is far away and is focusing on the wealth of Africa and America, and it is impossible to invest too much human resources into Asia.

You must seize the opportunity, otherwise, if you miss the first move, you will not know how many times the price you will have to pay to regain it.

Mekong Province is just a small trial, and more consideration is to manage the grain base to survive major disasters. Luzon is the real overseas territory and the prelude to the expansion of the Ming Empire.

Li Dan and Yan Siqi's ship slowly docked, and the sound of gunfire in the distance had already started, and the Marines began to fight against the Spaniards.

It is said that before the "Invincible Armada" was defeated by the British and lost its maritime overlordship, the Spaniards were very strong in the army and navy, and had plans to occupy the coast of the Ming Dynasty for 4,000 expeditionary forces.

Of course, the specific plan is probably to recruit five or six thousand soldiers from Japan and India as a supplementary force. And the goal is to Fujian Province.

Whether it is true or false, the Spanish's contempt for the Ming Empire is obvious.

However, the Spanish had never confronted the Ming army. Their evaluation of the strength of the Ming country was still at the level of decades ago.

Therefore, although the Spaniards lost the maritime overlord, based on previous misjudgment, when they heard the news of the Ming army attacking, they still confidently opened the city of Manila.

In order to adapt to the scale of the war at that time, tactical changes and further development of firearms, the Spanish phalanx was also reformed, which was called the Improved Spanish phalanx.

The specific change is that the share of spearmen has been greatly reduced and the musketeers has increased. Generally, spearmen accounted for 25%, while musketeers have reached 75%.

In the second half of the 16th century, the Spanish army was once powerful, relying on the Spanish phalanx tactics. At this time, Gustav's military reforms had not yet shone brightly.

The Spanish army, which had only more than 500 people, formed a square formation that made them full of confidence. More than ten miles outside the city of Manila, they faced two Marines that arrived one after another.

The flintlock rifle and bayonet are weapons and equipment that have been ahead of the Spaniards for decades, but it is a gap that the Spaniards do not know.

There were no spearmen, all of them were flintlocks and bayonets, and a quarter of the heavy muskets. But this was not the sharpest weapon of the Ming army. Apart from rockets, the Minnie rifle was on the stage of history for the first time.

More than two miles apart, the Ming army formed three square formations, one large one in the middle and two small ones on the two wings.

After the square formation, the artillery was busy setting up rocket launchers, adjusting the angle, and preparing to intensively bombard the enemy.

The Marine Corps guerrilla Qi Shiguang looked at the Spanish square with a telescope, his face was grim, but his mouth was slightly pursed, as if he was a little contempt.

The study of the Spanish, from martial arts to navy, was very meticulous and in-depth. The emperor also specifically explained that the Spanish phalanx was quite powerful and had to be dealt with seriously.

Because of this, the new weapon of the Minnie gun made an exception and was distributed to the Marine Corps. There were only 200, but it was said that it was the annual output of the Gunpowder Weapons Division.

Of course, after actual drills, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps immediately widened their eyes. In terms of range or accuracy, this musket named Apocalypse Six is ​​far superior to the flintlock rifle that has been equipped.

"It's a bit unfair!" Qi Shiguang shook his head and ordered the formation to advance forward.
Chapter completed!