Without knowing the outcome of the decisive battle in the Mediterranean, the Portuguese Viceroy of India would never agree to let the Malacca Fleet go east - if the Ottomans won the decisive battle, they would focus on cleaning up the robbers who broke into their backyard. The Portuguese in Macau must know this better than him.
On the contrary, if the Portuguese viceroy knew the result of the Battle of Lepanto, he would most likely agree to the Malacca Fleet to send more troops to Macau because the threat from the Ottoman Empire was temporarily eliminated. At least the Portuguese in Macau would definitely strive for this.
It was very simple for the Coast Guard Fleet - since they had decided to fight, they had to destroy the Portuguese fleet in Macau before the reinforcements from Malacca arrived!
Otherwise, once the other side gathers its forces together, with Macau, which has complete military facilities such as shipyards, artillery factories, and logistics warehouses and convenient supplies, the coast guard fleet fighting away from home will become the one with an unstable foothold.
Temporarily withdrawing to the north would be the most rational choice for the Coast Guard Fleet, but that would not only make the previous results of the anti-bandit campaign in the south go to waste, but would also greatly affect the reputation of the Jiangnan Group and the Coast Guard Fleet in the seas of Fujian and Guangdong. It would make many things extremely difficult...
But if we can defeat the Portuguese fleet in Macau and take back Macau before the end of the year, the reinforcement fleet in Malacca won't even be able to find a supply port. We can wear them out by fighting at home!
Moreover, based on Zhao Hao's understanding of the Portuguese, they are not like the arrogant Spanish who cannot bear any loss. In order to protect Portugal's routes and strongholds across half the world, they will calculate the gains and losses meticulously and will never act on impulse and waste their pitiful military strength.
How does the saying go? One strike is enough to prevent a hundred blows from coming.
Therefore, as long as the Battle of Macau is fought beautifully, it will greatly reduce the possibility of Portuguese military adventures and make them stay in Malacca honestly!
As for whether the conquest of Macau would affect trade, Zhao Hao was not worried at all. The Portuguese were not the Spaniards who had just started the sailing trade. They had been engaged in the Far East trade for decades. It was no exaggeration to say that the Far East route was their lifeline. Moreover, now that the Spaniards had also come, the initiative was in their hands. The ones who should really worry about the severance of trade were the Portuguese!
Zhao Hao's mind raced as he made up his mind - a quick battle and a quick decision, or else something unexpected would happen!
After a moment's hesitation, Master Zhao asked Lin Daoqian, "Where is Lin Hongzhong now?"
"The bidder firmly rejected him and he went back the same day." Lin Daoquan was busy flattering himself.
"Tell the truth." Zhao Hao frowned and scolded, "From now on, we are in a wartime state. We don't have time to play guessing games with you!"
"Yes..." Lin Daoqian's face turned pale, and he quickly told the truth: "I don't want to offend him and attract the governor's attack. So I dealt with it vaguely, but I definitely didn't agree to be an enemy of you!"
"Why don't you agree, you idiot?" Zhao Hao rolled his eyes.
"Ah?" Lin Daoqian opened his mouth wide, and Lin Feng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Fool, if you agree to them, we can use their tricks against you and cooperate with them from inside and outside!"
"Look, your sister is smart." Zhao Hao smiled with relief: "If you can get into their inner circle, won't we know ourselves and the enemy? Then we can turn against them at the last minute, how can we not win?"
"It's because the leader is too stupid..." Lin Daoqian nodded hurriedly, but cursed in his heart, I just had a little ambiguity with Lin Hongzhong, and you gave me coconuts. If I really expressed my intention to join him, I'm afraid you would just give me my sister's head instead, right?
"But luckily we didn't fall out." Zhao Hao knew that he was forcing her, so he smiled and said, "You can still use the self-torture trick."
"Ah? Sir, do you want me to learn from Wang Zuo's broken arm, or Huang Gai's rotten butt?" Lin Daoquan's face turned pale.
"That's not the case. When the coast guard fleet arrives at Nan'ao Island, you will take your fleet to pretend to fight with them, then evacuate Xiawei City and go west to join them." Zhao Hao gave the order in a deep voice.
"This..." Lin Daoquan found it hard to accept for a moment, although he knew that the lower tail was most likely not going to be saved.
"What's this?" Lin Feng glared at him and said, "Brother, don't be so fussy. How can my master harm you?"
"Oh, yes, yes..." Lin Daoqian nodded and smiled bitterly, glaring back at Lin Feng. It was true that women are extroverts. She had just found a master and hadn't even found a husband yet, but she was already turning her head in the opposite direction.
"Hahaha, Feng'er is right." Young Master Zhao nodded in satisfaction, and changed his name to a more intimate one without leaving any trace. Then he said to Lin Daoqian, "I said at the beginning that as long as you don't let me down, I will not only keep you safe, but also make you prosperous. Look, our coast guard fleet has worked very hard, and all the credit goes to you. Is there anyone in the world who treats you better than me?"
"Yes, yes, sir, your kindness is greater than the sky." Lin Daoquan nodded repeatedly, but cursed in his heart, thank you... You have made me the number one public enemy of my colleagues in Fujian and Guangdong, and I have to cling to my master's thigh.
"I also said that I would give you better than Xiawei." Zhao Hao said again.
"Xiangshanao...?" Lin Daoquan guessed.
"What good place is Macau? I'm talking about Tuen Mun!" Zhao Hao said with a smile, "I'll tell Lin Zhongcheng in advance. He will issue an order to you, saying that a large number of pirates are infesting the Pearl River Estuary, and order you to help defend Tuen Mun."
"Is that so..." Lin Daoqian's heart was pounding. Tuen Mun was at the mouth of the Pearl River, controlling the waterway to the provincial capital, which was a hundred times better than Xiawei. As an ambitious pirate, of course he had to take a gamble. But he hadn't completely lost his mind.
"But... this needs to be approved by Minister Yin, right?"
"Don't worry about the above matters, I'm here for you." Zhao Hao said calmly. He would not tell Lin Daoqian that he had already dispatched the ultimate weapon - the old man, and asked him and Grandma Ye to go to Zhaoqing as soon as possible to capture Governor Yin.
Yin Zhengmao is from She County, and so is Grandma Ye. They are all real old folks! Even if Yin Zhengmao doesn't want to get too close to the old man because of Gao Gong, his noble classmate Zhang Juzheng is also Zhao Hao's future father-in-law, so he has to consider the face of the Buddha.
Besides, Yin Bu Tang is very polite. He must have a lot in common with the old man. It would be strange if we can't defeat him!
After that, the old man will go to the provincial capital to host a few Hai Tian Sheng Yan banquets to get all those old friends together and see who will still speak for the Wuyang Tong Shang Guan.
Lin Hongzhong was just a small comprador, but he actually wanted to use his connections in the officialdom to fight against Master Zhao. It was simply ridiculous!
Seeing that Master Zhao had arranged everything for him, what else could Lin Daoqian say? He could only thank his master for his kindness.
~~
Zhao Hao also explained to Lin Daoqian many things to pay attention to after arriving in Tuen Mun.
Lin Daoqian quickly borrowed a pencil and took notes while secretly being amazed. The master's arrangement was so detailed, and it was obvious that he had already made a plan to kill the Portuguese and a group of sea masters and completely control the southeastern sea area.
The coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong have long been under the control of the master. If this succeeds, won’t the Ming Dynasty’s waters be unified?
From now on, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has the final say on land, and the master of the sea has the final say!
Thinking of this, Lin Daoquan felt sincerely grateful and proud.
If we hadn't been chosen by the master, my sister and I would have been the same as those sea masters and become his targets of destruction, right? How lucky we are!
As for pride, of course I am proud of the fact that my master has built a great career.
"Don't worry, the credit for suppressing the pirates and recovering Macau will still be yours. The lieutenant general of Nan'ao Island means nothing. I will ensure that you will be promoted to the deputy general of Nan'ao and be in charge of the military affairs of Penghu and Taiwan!" Zhao Hao made a final promise as usual, which made Lin Daogan so greedy that he almost wagged his tail.
That's the King of the Southeast Sea, although only in name...
"Master, you can't be partial. How can I be left out of such a good thing?" Lin Feng's eyes became red with envy. She pulled Zhao Hao's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Don't let outsiders benefit from it!"
"What the hell, outsider... I mean, I'm not an outsider..." Lin Daoqian almost cursed after hearing this. He only let it go because her mother was his mother.
Seeing his sister's shyness, he almost vomited the food he had eaten the previous night. He didn't know what his sister was like? She was a real man... He was really trying hard to pretend to be this way.
"Okay, okay." Who knew that Master Zhao would fall for it? He said helplessly, "You go too. Then you can each take half of the credit, and you will be clean!"
"Mmmm, Mmmm, Master is the best!" Lin Feng smacked his lips happily.
Zhao Hao quickly wiped his saliva with a look of disgust, but it was obvious that he didn't hate it.
Seeing that acting cute and coquettish was so effective, Lin Daoqian was envious and thought to himself, I can also dress like a woman...
~~
Two days later, the Western Fleet ended its rest and left Fengshan Port.
But Zhao Hao left behind a small ship squadron, a speedboat squadron, two marine squadrons, and three auxiliary police squadrons, and a considerable number of troops were here.
The first is to protect Jin Ke and his staff so that they can continue to carry out preparations for the garrison base.
Second, Tang Youde also stayed behind. He had to wait for the food to be shipped from Naha and personally distribute it to the farmers kidnapped by Lin Daoqian. After fulfilling his promise, he began to transform their agriculture into industry, and when the agricultural technicians sent by Jiangnan arrived, he could start to build a farm.
In addition, he had to find a way to make the natives friendly. How could he accomplish these tasks without sufficient troops to open up a pasture in Langqiao?
Lin Feng was also ordered by Zhao Hao to stay. In addition to the 50,000 or 60,000 kidnapped farmers, there were also several thousand pirates. If there was no one to control them, who knows what kind of trouble would happen.
Naturally, she was extremely reluctant, until Zhao Hao promised her to let the coast guard officers and soldiers serve as instructors to help her re-train her subordinates, then she reluctantly agreed to stay.
When she was saying goodbye, she suddenly remembered something and pointed to the big river that flowed into Fengshan Port: "Oh, Master, I forgot to name this river. Fengshan River... It sounds weird."
"It's a bit strange." Young Master Zhao nodded, and thinking of the name of this river in later generations, he smiled and said, "Then let's call it the River of Love."
Lin Feng's face immediately turned red... Is this the way a strong man teases others? Love it.
Secretary Ma took off his glasses and rubbed his nose. This is Fengshan and Aihe, the young man is really spending a lot of money to pick up girls...
And you still say it's not playing hard to get?