Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Revitalize the Ming Dynasty

Volume 13 Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 666 Threat at Sea

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    With the full opening of the Ming Sea Ban and the prosperity of commerce, some coastal cities have developed even faster.  They either take advantage of the convenient location by collecting fees for ships entering the port, and the accompanying business of brothels, restaurants and inns, or they participate in foreign trade business, so that most people in these places can have  A whole new way to make money.

    As a result, the Chinese civilization, which has always relied on farming civilization as the main mode of production, has been impacted, and many well-known local gentry and gentry have expressed their opposition.  Although these people were once the backbone of smuggling in the past, their huge family interests and conservative ideas still hindered their progress, and eventually fell behind those emerging overseas trading merchants who dared to take risks.  hand.  They were jealous and were naturally very dissatisfied with such changes. Many people tried their best to go back to the past.  []

    But now that the commercial awareness of coastal cities has risen, how can they stop it with just a few words?  What's more, with the support of the imperial court, local officials did not dare to be too biased, which led to a change in power between the old forces and the emerging forces.  Perhaps soon, the distribution of strength will be completely reversed.

    In Hainan and Fujian, which were originally regarded as barbaric places by the Chinese people and where most of the guilty were exiled, the rise of this emerging force has been particularly rapid.  The old forces here were unable to compare with other places due to geographical limitations. Now the development of these places is the least fettered. Therefore, the emerging forces in these two places are the strongest. In just a few years, there are thousands of seas.  Shang appeared among them.

    Among them, the most eye-catching one is the Zheng family, which was originally just a pirate, but later relied on its pirate experience to become a leader in maritime business.  The head of the family, Zheng Zhilong, was once the leader of the "Eighteen Zhi", a pirate group that traveled extensively in the southeastern sea and made all countries jealous. He was a righteous and brave man and enjoyed a high reputation on the sea.  When it was in its heyday, Japan, Ryukyu and other countries did not dare to be disrespectful to it, and it was considered a hegemon on the sea.

    Later, Zheng Zhilong's fleet defeated the Dutch East India Company's fleet, which was famous for its maritime reputation, and thus completely controlled the sea routes in Fujian. Any national or private fleet passing through it would have to pay a fee.  , he is like the king of the sea.

    But as he grew older, Zheng Zhilong finally gave up and became an ordinary Ming citizen.  And because the imperial court knew his name, they did not blame him more. Instead, they granted him an official position and took care of him.  And Zheng Zhilong happily became a rich man and lived a leisurely life.

    With the emergence of the imperial court's policy of opening up the sea for trade, Zheng Zhilong clearly felt that his opportunity had come again.  Although he is no longer young and can no longer travel around the sea, his vision for maritime trade is still there. With so many years of experience in smuggling and hegemony at sea, he will naturally develop well at this time.  .  Moreover, today's maritime trade is legal, so they don't have to raise their heads to do this kind of thing. He is very relieved to leave it to the children below.

    With Zheng Zhilong¡¯s planning and the efforts of his brothers and son Zheng Chenggong, the Zheng family¡¯s maritime fleet once again grew to a huge scale, and the Zheng family became the leading maritime merchant and wealthy merchant in Fujian.

    Although everything went so smoothly, Zheng Zhilong, who was well aware of the situation overseas and surrounding areas, was still a little worried, because he had already learned the news from his disciples who had returned from the sea. The red-haired men who had been defeated by his army had returned again.  There was development once, and it also developed through another group of people who occupied a place called Haojing as early as the Jiajing period. These people are likely to have a major impact on their future commercial development and the coastline of the Ming Dynasty.

    Of course, with Zheng Zhilong¡¯s understanding at this time, it is impossible to tell the difference between the Netherlands and Portugal. In his eyes, all red-haired people in the world are the same.  However, his judgment is still very strong. Once these foreigners who accumulated primitive capital through bloody means gain control of the sea, it will inevitably cause great damage to the maritime trade of the Ming Dynasty.

    After pondering for a while at home, Zheng Zhilong still couldn't make a decision. Should he lead his former brothers and use force to bring those red-haired people into submission, or should he write a letter to the court?  He has concerns about both. In the former, he knows that his current identity is no longer the overlord of the sea. If the court learns of his behavior and blames him, he will not be able to drag his family and leave.  So easy. As for the latter, he still doesn't have much trust in the imperial court. Let alone the ability of the imperial navy, it's hard to say whether they will send troops to deal with those red-haired men because of this.  In Zheng Zhilong's understanding, the imperial court was still very conservative, and there was no way he would start a war just for the sake of a small seaport.

    ButZheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong had different ideas from his father. As a young man, he yearned for the heroic deeds in history. He also wanted to serve the country and drive away all the invading enemies.  So after learning the news, he repeatedly persuaded his father, hoping that Zheng Zhilong would allow him to bring his fleet and men to drive away those red-haired men.

    But Zheng Zhilong is the head of the Zheng family after all. Until he comes up with an accurate idea, even Zheng Chenggong, the most outstanding young man in the family, cannot go against his intention to stand still. Zheng Chenggong can only worry about it at home.  .

    The tree wanted to be quiet but the wind was not stopping. Just when the Zheng family was hesitant and finally decided to say hello to the court first, the red-haired people on the sea over there took action.  These white people who came to the East from thousands of miles away were not really here to do business, because they did not have goods that could attract the wealthy and self-sufficient people of the Ming Dynasty, and their demand for wealth was so strong, of course they did not  Maybe it was obtained through legal means.

    It turns out that when the Ming Dynasty still banned the sea, there were two ways for these red-haired men to obtain wealth. One was smuggling, buying some specialties of the Ming Dynasty from smugglers, and the other was direct robbery. These such as  Specialties of the Ming Dynasty such as silk, porcelain and tea were very popular among Western nobles, and they did get a lot of benefits from doing so. However, with the opening of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Zheng family earlier, the lives of the red-haired people began to change.  Not so easy.

    After repeated failures and summarizing lessons, they finally realized their shortcomings, that is, there was no place that could provide them with supplies and docking.  Although those countries in Southeast Asia are not their opponents, they are still some distance away from the rich Ming Dynasty, and their target is not only them, but the richest Ming Dynasty.  But then, these red-haired men found helpers, that is, the Portuguese who had stolen the oyster mirror for many years, also known as the Francois in the Ming Dynasty. As long as they can get their support, the Dutch can prepare everything on a basis, and then  Attacked the coast of Ming Dynasty.

    After several negotiations and concessions, these two groups, both of which are European maritime powers, reached an agreement.  The Francons could allow the Dutch to land and help the Dutch to attack the coast of the Ming Dynasty. After getting the spoils, the two sides would divide them equally.  Of course, the main force attacking the Ming Dynasty was still the Dutch, because they had the strongest attack power at sea.

    Now that they had made up their mind, two groups of Western fleets, half pirates and half soldiers, set off from Oyster Mirror and headed straight for the Central Plains.  If we look at the direction, Guangdong is the most convenient place for them. However, because the frontline court in Guangdong stationed many people, after getting the information, these bandits turned towards Fujian to kill.  They had already heard that the wealthy locals in Fujian and the enemy Zheng who had defeated them were also there, so they quickly confirmed that Fujian was the first target of their attack.

    Five huge sea-going ships, plus dozens of small boats suitable for offshore operations, headed toward the coast of Fujian in a mighty manner.  At this time, the merchant ship of the Zheng family that had already received the news was returning home.  Their head of the family has issued an order, ordering all the Zheng family's ships to return to the Fujian port before the court gives instructions to prevent being injured by Hongmaozi.

    However, some of them still received the order a little late. When they hurriedly returned to the sea, they happened to encounter the fleets of the two countries heading towards Fujian.  As soon as they saw the deep-draft ships with the Ming flag flying, the eyes of those Western bandits who had not sailed for some time began to shine with golden light.

    Several bandit leaders who still held governorships in their own countries immediately issued orders to attack.  Several large ships were operating at full power, and then as soon as they turned on the rudder, they were in front of five large merchant ships, blocking their way.  At the same time, the small boats full of pirates rushed over and quickly surrounded the three merchant ships using wolf pack tactics, preventing them from escaping.  Then I saw the bandits wearing tight-fitting pirate costumes throwing out ropes one by one and roping them onto the mast of the Ming Dynasty merchant ship. People also swung onto the ship following these ropes, with blazing guns and short shorts stuck in their waists.  an ax and a Western sword.

    Seeing this scene, the Ming crew members knew that a fierce battle was inevitable.  Fortunately, most of the crew members on these three ships had followed Zheng Zhilong and conquered the world in the Nanyang area. Although they were suddenly attacked, they did not panic.  They quickly took out knives, guns and weapons from the cabin, preparing to defend themselves.

    Although most of these crew members are veterans who have experienced many battles, the tigers cannot resist the wolves. Under the impact of waves of pirates, they quickly fell into a disadvantage.  Moreover, these pirates also had firearms that the crew did not have. In a burst of banging, many people were knocked down. More than an hour later, nearly a hundred crew members of three merchant ships were either killed or captured alive by the pirates. Everything on the ship was naturally  It belongs to those red-haired pirates.  only a few of themThe most skilled and clever people took advantage of the chaos to seize a small boat and headed for Fujian. Although the pirates pursued them, they finally escaped from the tiger's mouth.

    However, this did not disturb the good mood of the pirates. They unexpectedly got such a small fortune, which naturally greatly boosted their morale. They were also full of confidence in attacking Fujian and plundering more property.

    "This is unreasonable!" Zheng Zhilong hit the tea table in front of him with a loud bang and said angrily.  The subordinates who were reporting the news of the ship being hijacked in front of him were also shaken. They had not seen their eldest brother so angry for several days.  However, it is conceivable that someone dared to attack the Zheng family's ship. Isn't this a slap in Zheng Zhilong's face?

    "These red-haired guys are so bold. They actually have an idea of ????my Zheng family's fleet. Do you really think that we dare not deal with them?" The anger was not vented because of that slap, Zheng Zhilong still said angrily.  Although he wanted to play it safe before and wanted to use the power of the imperial court to deal with these external enemies, but once they were really bullied, the strongman style that he used to dominate overseas was once again reflected, which made many brothers feel confused for a while.  I dare not persuade him.

    "Third brother, go and give me an order, and ask the brothers who are doing business everywhere to come back quickly. This time we can't let those red-haired guys bully us like this. I must take this place back! They dare to kill our brothers,  I also want those red-haired ones to fall into the sea and feed the fish and shrimps!" Zheng Zhilong then said to his third brother Zheng Zhikui next to him.

    Zheng Zhikui is a person who only follows the orders of his elder brother. As soon as he heard this, he immediately stood up and walked out.  At this time, Zheng Chenggong, who had always been the calmest, spoke: "Uncle Third, wait!" Then he bowed to his father: "Dad, there are a few things I don't know whether I should say or not."

    "If you have anything to say, just say it." Zheng Zhilong saw that his eldest son, who had been encouraging his eldest son before, opened his mouth. He only thought that he had some means to deal with those red-haired boys, so he nodded.

    "My child thinks it's better that we don't start a fight now." But Zheng Chenggong's words obviously exceeded everyone's expectations. He was not in a hurry to go to war with Hongmaozi, but to persuade his father.

    "What do you mean?" Zheng Zhilong asked with a frosty expression on his face.  Although he had great trust in this son who was deeply valued by him, Zheng Zhilong was still very unhappy when he said such a thing at this juncture.

    "My child thinks that now is not the time to start a war with them. There are two reasons." Zheng Chenggong did not change his view because of the bad behavior of his father and others. Instead, he said more carefully: "Father, you have just turned yourself  We reported our worries to the court, and immediately gathered our own troops to fight against those red-haired men. What would the court think of it? Those officials like to find faults most. If they catch this and  If I criticize you, I'm afraid that even if we win, we won't have much to gain. This is one of them.

    "Secondly, our fleet has stopped doing those things in recent years. Although the people are still those people, they may not be the opponents of the red-haired man after being separated for a long time. Now the brothers are all  With a family and a career, I am no longer more open-minded than before. I am willing to fight to the death. I have many worries. How can I still defeat the red-haired man like he did a few years ago? In addition, I heard that this time the red-haired man is equipped with very powerful weapons.  Firearms, but we don¡¯t have enough firearms equipment, and I¡¯m afraid we will suffer from this. So I think we should be patient for the time being. After the court has a clear answer, it will not be too late to take action depending on the situation. "

    His words could be said to be reasonable and take care of all aspects, but Zheng Zhilong couldn't take it seriously, because although he was already a maritime businessman, he still had the habits of a pirate in his heart.  Pirates, like bandits, are all about face. Now that one of his people has been robbed by a red-haired man, how can Zheng Zhilong bear this tone?  Even if it was his son's persuasion, Zheng Zhilong refused to listen. He waved his hand and said: "These are not as important as the brothers. They have all bullied us. We can't just endure it, otherwise there will be others in the future.  If you believe us, why should we go overseas to find a way to survive? Moreover, the families of many of the dead brothers are watching us, and we cannot let them down!"

    The other brothers who were obviously still full of gangsterism also supported Zheng Zhilong and said: "Brother is right, if we don't retaliate this time, those red-haired guys will think that we are easy to bully, and they might come to attack us.  Now. We can't just let it go, we have to let them know how powerful we are! Kill all these red-haired guys who dare to take our ideas and kill our brothers."

    "Yes, this is my brother Zheng Zhilong!" Zheng Zhilong said and said to Zheng Zhikui: "Go quickly and call all the brothers you can call. We will go to sea tomorrow to avenge our brothers.!  "

    Seeing that everyone had different opinions from his own, Zheng Chenggong had no choice but to remain silent after opening his mouth.  He would have agreed to do this before writing to the court, but now, it made him a little worried.  However, he was still 70% sure about this battle, believing that his side could win. After all, his side had the advantage in terms of geographical location, not to mention that the Zheng family's fleet was mostly engaged in naval battles.  A good player, enough to fight the red-haired man.

    Early the next morning, dozens of sea ships set sail, carrying thousands of Zheng Zhilong's brothers and subordinates. Their ships also prepared various weapons for naval battles. This time, they wanted to give those who dared to  A big lesson for the red-haired man stroking his beard!

    Just as the Zheng family's ship was setting off, the joint fleet of the Netherlands and the Netherlands had also arrived near the waters of Fujian. In addition, thousands of miles away in Beijing, Anguo Gong Tang Feng also received documents from Fujian and learned that  There was news that a Western fleet was patrolling along the coast over there.  His face looked a little heavy
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report