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Volume 13: Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 670: Designing to Defeat the Enemy

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    Hong Chengchou was not only a third-rank minister of the Ministry of War, but also an imperial envoy. Therefore, his status in Fuzhou city was naturally the highest, so he was arranged to live in the governor's house.  This time Zheng Chenggong suddenly said something different from others, which made Hong Chengchou not dare to underestimate this young man, so he took him there to talk in detail.

    In the study room of the governor's yamen, one citizen and one official, one guest and one host sat up and down. Before talking, Hong Chengchou secretly observed this young man who looked extraordinary.  Although Zheng Chenggong is now just a scholar who passed the local examination and has almost no reputation, he does not feel the least bit embarrassed in front of court officials like Hong Chengchou.  Although he sat upright in the chair, it was just his habit and not out of nervousness.

    Looking at this young man's demeanor, Hong Chengchou nodded secretly in his heart and had to admit that Duke An Guo was really good at discerning people.  Because when talking about the Zheng family, Tang Feng once said intentionally or unintentionally that he knew that one of them named Zheng Chenggong was very unusual, and asked Hong Chengchou to pay more attention to it. Now it seems that this person is indeed unusual.

    Although Tang Feng values ????this national hero who once did great things in history and took Taiwan back from the Dutch, he cannot guarantee that he can still have the historical skills now.  Because history has undergone many changes due to his intervention as an outsider, and even the Manchu Qing Dynasty that ruled the Central Plains in later generations no longer exists. Who can guarantee that Zheng Chenggong will definitely become a talent?  However, through the historical celebrities he has come into contact with over the years, Tang Feng still has confidence in these people. Sun Chuanting, Zuo Liangyu, and even Hong Chengchou have all become the cadres of the imperial court. Then Zheng Chenggong may also be able to use it for himself.  Play his role in protecting maritime borders.  It was precisely because of this idea that Tang Feng praised Zheng Chenggong in his words, which left an impression on Hong Chengchou.

    Although he was impressed in his heart, it didn't show anything on Hong Chengchou's face. He was able to work as a middle- and low-level official in Shaanxi for so many years, and then became the minister of the Ministry of War in the capital. He was definitely not a simple person.  After taking a few sips of tea to completely dissipate his previous drunkenness, he said: "I agree with what you said just now, Mr. Zheng. However, this matter is related to the maritime territory of Ming Dynasty and the future of Fujian."  Development, so we have to be careful about some things. You said that our troops are not enough to fight those pirates, but do you have any basis for it? "

    Zheng Chenggong looked at Hong Chengchou calmly and said: "Although these are just some opinions of the villain, I think it should be helpful to the current situation, so I have to tell the truth to you! Indeed, with the government and  After the union of local businessmen, our military strength is far beyond what those pirates can match, but when it comes to the sea, we cannot win by relying on large numbers of people. On that day, our Zheng family also sent a large number of men, horses and ships, and we came back  People said that the number of ships of those pirates is not more than ours. As for the number of people and horses, they are still unknown. But they can still kill nearly a thousand of our brothers with almost no damage" At this point, he  His face was bleak.

    "The Zheng family has made such sacrifices for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. I have heard about it for a long time. The court will definitely give you an explanation for this matter." Hong Chengchou comforted him in a timely manner, but did not mention that the Zheng family was actually so powerful.  things.

    After giving him a grateful fist, Zheng Chenggong continued: "It can be seen from this battle that those pirates are not only fierce in fighting, but their weapons and ships are also extremely capable of fighting at sea. Although we haven't been able to  We know exactly how this is done, but it is certain that our Ming ships are not as good as theirs at sea. So if we want to rely on our numbers to deal with them, I am afraid it will be very difficult."

    Hong Chengchou nodded and said: "You are right, we must not be careless about this. In fact, the situation is the same on other battlefields. The Jin people were far less powerful than the Ming Dynasty, but they were able to defeat us in a row. And now the pirates  , is another Jin Kingdom on the sea, but as long as we are determined, they will never succeed!"

    "Yes, this is what the villain thinks. Our Ming Dynasty has many hot-blooded men and some warriors who can fight. As long as we use the right methods, why worry about not being able to wipe out these enemies one by one?" Zheng Chenggong also agreed, and then added  It was a wry smile: "There is one thing that you may not know. In fact, long before those pirates entered our Fujian province last time, we had the opportunity to annihilate them all. It was only because of improper planning that we allowed them to go away with ease."

    "What? Such a thing could happen?" Hong Chengchou's expression suddenly changed and he couldn't help but raise his voice and asked, "Tell me, what's going on?"

    "This villain only heard what others said after the fact. If he had brought his brothers to fight with him at that time, the matter would have been easily solved. That day, after those pirates came ashore, they killed the officers and soldiers of Ming Dynasty in all directions.  dispersion, which further encouragesShowing their arrogance, these people went straight into the inland, directed their troops at Quanzhou, and finally plundered many towns.  "

    "I already understand this, but why do you just say that we can achieve a great victory at that time?"

    "Because my lord, you haven't heard of another thing - after those thieves got ashore, they actually threw their ships on the sea and ignored them. If a group of people came over and destroyed these ships at that time,  No matter how capable they were of fighting, how could they still survive in the Ming Dynasty with no way out? However, the local officers and soldiers were just running for their lives and had no thought of doing so. In the end, they committed a heinous crime.  After the crime, he walked away calmly." At this point, Zheng Chenggong couldn't help but let out a long sigh. He felt sorry for missing the opportunity.

    And Hong Chengchou felt not only pity, but also anger!  The officers and soldiers in Fujian were so incompetent and did not seize such a good opportunity. It was really stupid.  But at this time, he had promised the local government that he would not pursue the matter further. He just sighed bitterly, not knowing what to say for a while.

    After a long while, Hong Chengchou said: "If this is the case, maybe they will still do such a bold thing next time. When the time comes, won't we be able to eliminate this enemy by using this method?"

    "The villain thinks that they will never make such a mistake again. This completely leaves their escape route in our hands. Although they are just a group of pirates, judging from their combat capabilities, there must be some among them who know how to use soldiers.  . As long as they calm down, they will be alert and will naturally take precautions next time." As Zheng Chenggong spoke, he noticed that Hong Chengchou looked helpless, so he changed the subject and said, "But now that you have brought enough weapons and troops,  And we in Fujian, where the government and the people are united, think that we are still confident of winning."

    "Oh? Please tell me carefully!" Hong Chengchou gestured to him half-praising, half-encouragement.

    "To defeat these invading thieves, we must first understand the advantages and disadvantages of both the enemy and ourselves. The enemy's biggest advantage is actually very clear, that is, ships that are faster and larger than us, and sharp firearms. Although we  I got the firearms that my lord brought from the capital, but at most I can only compete with them on this level, but when it comes to ships, they are still not as good as those of the thieves." Encouraged by his lord, Zheng Chenggong stopped.  He was restrained and said eloquently: "And our advantages are also obvious, that is, the location and the large number of people. So the only way to win is to let the pirates give up their advantages and enter from the sea to the shore.  Rather than what those merchants said, we can gather enough ships to fight the enemy, which will only increase casualties and not be of any benefit to killing the enemy"

    "Well said!" Hong Chengchou said with a smile, stroking his hands: "When I heard those businessmen talking about defending against enemies, I also felt that something was wrong, but I could never find the crux of the problem. But after what you said, I  Now that I understand it. Think about it, even the Zheng family, which travels across the sea, fell into the hands of those pirates, how could the government-merchant coalition, which mainly consists of merchant ships, win."

    "But" Zheng Chenggong glanced at the adult in front of him with some embarrassment, thinking that I still had not finished the last half of my sentence.  Only then did Hong Chengchou realize that he had lost his composure. He chuckled and said, "If you have any other opinions, let's talk about it together."

    "Yes, what the villain wants to say is, but if we really want to avoid future troubles and prevent these pirates from committing minor crimes, we must annihilate them all. In this way, future pirates will not dare to violate us lightly because they have learned from the past.  . And if we want to completely remove them, we still need to make a fuss at sea. If we can't stop them at sea, our battle will not be fully successful. Otherwise, they will only think that our methods on land will be used when the time comes.  The sea is still their world. From now on, these pirates will continue to commit crimes on the sea and interrupt our trade through sea, which we cannot see."

    "You are very right. Such a situation cannot occur. But you have also said before that our combat power is not the opponent of those pirates when fighting at sea. How can we complete the battle in one battle?"

    "The only way is to use a strategy. First, lure these thieves to the shore and eliminate most of them. At the same time, we can send a sufficient number of ships from another place to find the ships on which the pirates are riding. Although they  The naval battle is powerful, but the people left on the ship cannot possibly fight us again. Therefore, the villain's strategy to defeat the enemy is to divide the enemy into two groups, and use the geographical advantage to remove most of them on the shore.  Then use superior force to eradicate the rest at sea. In this way, these thieves will be wiped out."

    "Okay, it is indeed a thoughtful strategy to defeat the enemy!" Hong Chengchou nodded repeatedly: "This is much more reliable than the head-on strategy we thought of before. I will discuss with them how to use this method to defeat the enemy.  , Mr. Zheng, why don¡¯t you do it for these two days?Let's go and discuss matters with the enemy with me.  "As he spoke, he raised his voice again and said: "Come here, prepare a bedroom for Mr. Zheng in my residence.  "

    "Thank you for your attention!" Zheng Chenggong did not refuse. He only thought about the day when he would be admired by others and serve as an official in the court. Now that the opportunity was presented to him, he would not let it go. This was also a farewell to his Zheng family.  A great opportunity for past pirate and maritime merchant careers.  He said so much before, just to let the imperial envoy in front of him appreciate himself and have a chance to be promoted.

    In the next two days, the government and local maritime merchants continued to negotiate and gathered people together. In just two days, there were already close to 30,000 people who could fight.  Except for the thousands of elite soldiers brought by Hong Chengchou from the capital and the thousands of relatively strong guardsmen, the others were selected by local maritime merchants. If the previously discussed method is followed, and in terms of  As for the ability to fight at sea, these ordinary people are the strongest.  However, after a conversation with Zheng Chenggong, Hong Chengchou had already changed his strategy.

    The defense line on the shore still exists, but it has not become stronger with the arrival of the imperial envoy, because it is just a bait to lure the enemy deeper.  Those along the coast, as well as the rural towns further in, have also been cleared. This time, innocent people cannot be harmed again.  On the roads and hills farther in, there are already many people with various weapons occupying favorable terrain. They are the key to killing the enemy.

    Now, we are just waiting for those pirates to attack again.  There has never been a time in Fujian where people have been looking forward to the early arrival of pirates like today.  At this time, hundreds of miles away on the sea, hundreds of pirate ships were already heading towards Fujian

    Having received such great benefits in the first round, the Westerners, whether pirates or merchants, naturally learned their taste and wanted to come again.  This time, not only Derek, who brought people and ships last time, but also Chris George and Rogers brought all their men and horses. There were nearly thirty large ships alone this time.

    Thinking about the fact that Derek came back a few days ago with a ship full of various belongings and even women, those Western thieves were furious.  But because of what he had said before, Derek's income would naturally not be shared with others, which made both Chris and George complained to death by the people below.  If it weren't for their hesitation, everyone would have benefited so much.  So this time, they will naturally not hesitate anymore, and they will definitely rob more property this time.

    Looking at the deep blue sky and deep blue sea, some strong pirates made strange screams on the deck, yearning for more.  At this time, on the largest main ship, several leaders were discussing the deployment after landing.  The two people who were deeply jealous of Derek's previous behavior of ignoring the ship were very disapproving and kept criticizing him.  Derek couldn't refute this, he just kept a cold face.

    After mocking this accomplice to show their talents, they brought the topic back to how to attack the towns in the Ming Dynasty.

    "Judging from your description, the combat effectiveness of the Ming ** team is really not low. This is completely different from their previous performance. This time we have brought so many people here, we can't just be satisfied with robbing those little ones.  Villages and towns. And Derek, after you robbed them, these people will not dare to stay in those villages and towns without any defense measures. They will definitely find ways to escape into the city. Our goal this time should be  Those cities, with the combat effectiveness of the Ming Army, there is no way they can stop our progress!" Rogers said.

    "Yes, Lieutenant, this is indeed the purpose of our coming here again. What good things can those small villages and towns have? Only cities, cities with tens of thousands of people, are the places where there is truly countless wealth.  If we want to rob, we should rob those places, not villages and towns." George also echoed there.

    Seeing these two guys who were overwhelmed by jealousy singing and singing, Derek's face became a little ugly. They were clearly pointing fingers and saying that they didn't know how to choose.  But it's not his fault. How did he know that the Ming army was so incompetent before?  And now that their power is several times greater than before, they certainly have enough confidence to attack that seemingly solid city.

    "Of course, Derek still plays a big role. If it weren't for his adventure, we wouldn't have known that there was such a lovely place here." George noticed Derek's displeasure and praised him.  After all, this person still has a lot of troops, and we will have to rely on him and his people to lead the way.

    Derek showed a very forced smile, and then said: "Your Majesty the Governor, we brought everyone out this time, nearly eight people.How could a warrior attack only one city?  As far as I know, there are many cities along the coast of the Ming Dynasty. Why don't we divide our troops into separate groups and attack these cities one by one?  "

    "No, Captain, you are too impatient. Although these Ming troops are incompetent, we must not despise them like this. Our strength is still very limited now. Only after we succeed this time and obtain greater benefits  , can we spread such good news back and let more people follow us. By then, no one in our country will be richer than us, and all the dukes and earls will be replaced by us, and Her Majesty the Queen will also  We will be given higher honors, so it is only right that we attack those cities again. This time, we are here to explore the way for future gains."

    "Well, since the Governor insists, then I will follow you. But after getting the wealth this time, I hope to get 40% of it, because I have explored this road."

    "There is no problem at all. We are fair friends. You have found this source of wealth for us, so it is natural that we should share more." At this time, they were still united and did not have any conflicts over the division of the stolen goods.

    ¡°But what these people don¡¯t know is that what¡¯s waiting for them on the shore not far away is not wealth, but swords and guns, hatred and killing
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