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- May 15, 1646, March 30, the second year of Longwu in the Ming Dynasty. `
Fuzhou Prefecture in Fujian was renamed Tianxing Prefecture by the Longwu court, while Fuzhou City was renamed Fujing, symbolizing the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty and the continuation of the political appeal after the fall of the northern and southern capitals.
However, the state affairs of the Longwu court at this time were very strange. Emperor Longwu himself spent most of the time with a group of senior ministers in Jianning Mansion in the northwest of Fuzhou. Jianning is close to the northern defense line of Fujian, and it is euphemistically called the emperor's gatekeeper.
Zheng Zhilong spent most of his time in Fuzhou City, building war defense facilities in the west and north directions, placing cannons, storing grain, grass and gunpowder, and deploying heavy troops, making it his second home after Xiamen.
In less than a year, the conflict between the Longwu court and the king of Lu in the northeast of Zhejiang Province deepened to the point of fighting. Not only did they not recognize each other's political legitimacy, they also killed each other's communication envoys and robbed each other of border states and counties.
Just a few months ago, the Longwu court took advantage of the farce that King Lu concentrated his main force to cross the Qiantang River (Qiantang River) for the Northern Expedition to Hangzhou and went bankrupt. Behind the scenes, he sent troops to attack the Fenshuiguan at the junction of Fujian and Zhejiang, almost causing a fight between the two families.
Now, the Manchu Qing's second southern expedition has been launched, and hundreds of thousands of troops are approaching Jiangxi and Zhejiang respectively. The two Nanming regimes are busy with their own affairs, leaving only verbal accusations against each other.
Even though there are still Jiangxi and Zhejiang in the north, the city of Fuzhou is already a bit uneasy at this time. Every day, local gentry and wealthy people are running to various yamen to inquire about news.
Although Fuzhou is far away from the war, it has been affected by the current situation. In addition, the Zheng family has strengthened coastal control. Not only has the coastal trade been more than half colder than in previous years, but various parts of Fujian have suffered from repeated floods in the past year, which has also affected the food supply of Fuzhou City. Prices soared.
The Nanyang rice business from Luzon and Danyuan has almost been cut off, and the rice harvest in the mainland of Jiangxi and Fujian has been severely damaged by waterlogging. People in various places who cannot sustain this year's harvest have fled. Large landowners in various states and counties are even hoarding grain to protect themselves. Now A stone of old brown rice with bran costs more than five taels of silver.
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Fuzhou City. Ping Guogong Mansion.
Zheng Zhilong, who is only in his forties, has grown a beautiful long beard and is writing in the study. Wearing a first-grade official uniform, his gaze is like a god. The demeanor of a generation of Confucian generals with power and authority can be clearly seen.
The surface demeanor is still as stable as Mount Tai, but the writing is slightly sluggish, with a hint of restlessness.
In the past one or two years, the Zheng family has experienced huge impacts like a giant boat in the stormy sea, and suddenly opened up an unprecedented situation in the chaos and danger. 8 The novel looks so beautiful. But Zheng Zhilong knew that he had invested all the gambling money he had saved for half his life, but the result of winning or losing had not come yet, and now he was in a dilemma.
Zheng Zhilong even thought that if something went wrong, he would simply revert to his former status as a pirate group and continue to become a fringe force that all parties must win over but not offend.
From the previous state of waiting for the price and letting me advance or retreat, I suddenly became a player in the game. Zheng Zhilong felt more and more that the more he invested, the smaller his room for maneuver seemed.
Rapid footsteps came from the corridor outside the study. Zheng Zhilong immediately raised his wrist, moved the pen tip away from the paper, and raised his head in a somewhat unhappy mood.
"Brotherthe messenger from the north is gone."
The person who entered was Zheng Zhibao, the fourth brother of the Zheng family, Cheng Jibo. I saw that my eldest brother had a different expression. Zheng Zhibao quickly bowed his head and held his hands, looking very cautious.
Zheng Zhilong's slightly frowned brows gradually relaxed, and he returned his gaze to the rice paper on the table, and said in a calm tone: "Well, just leave. Now that the current situation is turbulent, you must be careful to deal with it and not create extraneous matters. "
Zheng Zhibao quickly lowered his head: "Brother is right. But this time Jiangnan Economic Strategy's letter to recruit bachelors also gave a heavy promise. As long as my brother is willing to submit to Beiting, he can be awarded the title of king of the three provinces of Jiangnan!"
The Jiangnan Economic Strategy that Zheng Zhibao mentioned was recruiting bachelors, which was Hong Chengchou who was now sent to Nanjing by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
Hong Chengchou has been sending messengers to lobby certain officials in Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian in the past few months. It blew wind and rain for the Qing Dynasty's southern expedition. Nowadays, officials from several prefectures and counties in the northernmost part of Jiangxi have surrendered one after another. If it weren't for the stubbornness of Jiangxi Governor Wan Yuanji, who stationed heavy troops in Huizhou and Guangxin to defend to the death, Jiangxi's defense line would have collapsed by now.
Zheng Zhilong¡¯s pen tip flicked again. Then he let out a long sigh: "I, the Zheng family, have been blessed by the late emperor, and we are here today Today, we are even more generous. Everyone is an official, and the whole family is honored. If we betray the country at this time, wouldn't it be a blessing?" Is it reviled by all the people?"
"Big brother is the pillar of the country. He is loyal and righteous, and Lord Hong also praised him endlessly. My brother and the messenger talked briefly for two days, and the letter written by Master Hong did not dare to be opened."?. "
With that said, Zheng Zhibao took out a wax-painted letter from his body and presented it with both hands.
Zheng Zhilong hesitated for a moment, then opened the letter in front of Zheng Zhibao.
"The time for the intruders and thieves from the West is limited. The enemy's revenge has been avenged, and it is the general trend of the world to be loyal to the new dynasty. `Therefore, the Ming Dynasty has been in danger for decades, and it must be a loss of morality. The Qing Dynasty's reform, inheritance and obedience It is destiny that all the people seek peace. If there is any war, it will be an act against the people Zheng Gong is a famous minister in the world. He has been alone in the southeast for more than 20 years. He has protected the peace and tranquility of the border and sea. He has shown his utmost loyalty and righteousness. Now he obeys the destiny of the destiny. To return to our Qing Dynasty is not to be rebellious, but to be expected by the people and the world"
Hundreds of eloquent words were written, all of which praised Zheng Zhilong for being extremely loyal to the Ming Dynasty. It would be meaningless to persist in the face of the general trend of the world, otherwise it would be contrary to public opinion. As long as Zheng Zhilong is willing to surrender to the Qing court, the Zheng family can still retain its status in the southeast, and the Qing court will also grant the Zheng family a far higher title than the Ming Dynasty.
Hong Chengchou chose to use Zheng Zhibao as an intermediary to persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender because Zheng Zhibao was the person in charge of the Zheng family's smuggling trade in Liaodong. He had secretly made many transactions with the Manchus, and was once exposed internally. Now is naturally the breaking point for Hong Chengchou to recruit and surrender the Zheng family, and this is already the third time since the beginning of spring that he has secretly sent people to recruit them.
"Brother, I heard that I am recruiting troops to build a camp in Jianning Prefecture, and I want to go to Jiangxi to fight in person. Not long ago, letters from the Qing court and high officials were intercepted. Cao Wei, who is going to school today, burned them in front of the civil and military officials of the court. After receiving those letters, he said that bygones are bygones." Zheng Zhibao came closer, his voice was very low, "Such methods may seem wise, but I don't know how many people in the court will appreciate them. Today, I am suspicious that the Zheng family is not doing two things a day. Today, they even privately reprimanded me, the Zheng family, for their neglect of military defense If the situation can really be reversed, what can I, the Zheng family, do?"
"Is this what you said alone?" Zheng Zhilong frowned. The tone gradually became stern.
"Brother, you have already shown signs of alienating me from the Zheng family. The king of a country is not in Fujing, but he lives in Jianning. He announced that he will move to Jiangxi, and he clearly wants to abandon my Zheng family, Jiangxi Governor Wan Yuanji, and Huguang Governor He Tengjiao. They join forces! Now Zhejiang and Guangdong and Guangxi are eyeing us. If Fujian is lost again, where will my Zheng family live?!"
Zheng Zhibao¡¯s expression became very indignant, as if he could no longer bear this grievance.
"Report! There is an urgent secret!"
????????????????????? A junior high school student rushed into the study with a pile of military information, interrupting the brothers' conversation.
Zheng Zhilong just glanced at the special mark on the letter and quickly grabbed it.
"The chaos among the officials was settled, and the number of Mi-Yi warships was gradually reduced. King Lu granted Yan Sicheng the post of Xuanwei Division of the officials, and took charge of the rebellion of the officials, killing the guards of the Tamsui camp, the guards of the Dongshe camp, and the Anping water There are more than 300 people under the battalion staff"
"On February 21st, the Mi-Yi and Flang warships passed Penghu, and the garrison's chicken coop was replenished with water and firewoodOn February 29th, they entered Ryukyu. With the Yan family as the guide, they paid a courtesy visit to the leader of the Ryukyu Kingdom. He promised to open the port. Trade, signing contracts and mutual tradeLeaving Hong Kong on March 17th, heading to the Northeast, I suspect that the foreigners colluded to open navigation to Japan."
" Miyi officials and the Western Yi countries, Liu Xiang, Li Guozhu and others, sent four ships to say hello to eastern Zhejiang. They will arrive in Hong Kong soon Miyi refused to sell sea goods on the grounds of shipwreck. It¡¯s been more than a month, I¡¯m afraid I have other plans.¡±
As he read the secret military letters one by one, the colors on Zheng Zhilong¡¯s face also changed in turns. By the end I was furious.
¡°It¡¯s really a good idea to demolish walls and tiles everywhere without showing the front line of the troops!¡± Zheng Zhilong threw all the letters in his hand to the ground and hurriedly walked away from the study.
"Brother, our Zheng family's daily prosperity depends entirely on the sea trade of Fujian, Ryukyu, and Japan! Now our Zheng family has no skills. If the Ryukyu trade routes are cut off by officials and Miyi, the Japanese trade routes will be in trouble. Now that we are attacking Japan again, I am afraid that they will compete for our financial resources. South Sea goods will leave our Zheng family and go to the southeast. In time, all the merchants in Fujian will join another company!"
No matter how confidential the content was, Zheng Zhibao quickly picked it up and looked at it for a few times before he was sweating profusely.
"Hey" After half a stick of incense, Zheng Zhilong sat back on the chair tiredly, his expression slowly returning to calmness, "My Zheng family has been supporting His Majesty for the past year, and we have tried our best. Now apart from you and the fifth brother Zhi Peng, the second brother, My three brothers are all at odds with me Sen'er was given the surname of the country and trained the new army, regardless of his family business, because he was too old to help others Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian were wildly ambitious and took advantage of His Majesty's hand to act independently. You have violated my yin and yang the morale of the people and the army are scattered, I am tired of my brother"
"Brother"
Seeing that his brother was in a low mood, Zheng Zhibao couldn't say anything.
"Pass my command, Zhipeng will immediately lead the troops to Xiamen and Kinmen, and order the Penghu troops to guard and defend to the death, and not to slack off. Let Sen'er not argue with Guangdong, return to the army to guard Anhai, and send people to fill the shortage of food, grass and ordnance for him.?¡Zhihu and Zhifeng (Zheng Hongkui) withdraw their troops from Qianshan, Gukou and Xianxialing and return to Fujing, so that His Majesty can lead the expedition in person¡±
"In addition, I will send you a letter tomorrow and you will send it to the north. Remember, you will handle this matter yourself and you must not leak anything!"
After saying that, Zheng Zhilong closed his eyes tightly and seemed to fall asleep.
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Just when Zheng Zhilong was sending messengers to various places in Fujian, hundreds of kilometers away on the East China Sea, a mixed fleet of ships was sailing slowly northeastward in strong winds and high waves.
This combined fleet is the "Japanese Switch Negotiation Combined Fleet" composed of China and the United States, the Dutch East India Company and Portugal, with a total of 13 ships. The fleet includes both slender steam warships and old-fashioned fat sailing galenic warships, with three different styles of national flags flying on the masts.
The gorgeous naval ships are at the front of the formation, the light cruiser Jincheng Princess is followed by the frigates Black Crystal and Turquoise, while the transport ship Narwhal carries two Eastern Brigade infantry companies and a large amount of supplies at the end of the formation.
The fall of Muscat, the armed stronghold of the Arabian Peninsula in the Indian Ocean, caused the Portuguese Kingdom to lose control of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Morale in the Far East was greatly hit, and some deployments were also disrupted. The Portuguese warships dispatched from Malacca were delayed. long time. Even after the Portuguese arrived at Hong Kong Island, they discovered that there was a small-scale malaria infection on board the ship. As a result, the combined fleet, which was supposed to sail in mid-March, was delayed until early April.
" Sadly, even though the East China Sea is a downwind route this season, whether it is the Dutch East India Company or Portugal, the sailing of the old-fashioned Galenic warships is still so slow that it vomits blood.
In order to take care of the allies' aviation, the four warships of the Huamei Asia Fleet also reduced their power output to the minimum, which happened to save a lot of coal. It was considered that everyone was on the same frequency, and it also allowed the Huamei officers and soldiers who were always accustomed to the "fast pace" Very uncomfortable.
After the Three Kingdoms joint fleet set sail, it first stopped at Jilong Port in the north of Danyuan for supplies, where it met representatives of the Yan family, and then arrived in Ryukyu in mid-April.
For this kind of country that is as big as a sesame and a mung bean but has extremely high strategic significance, Huamei still follows the established strategic rhythm unhurriedly and only makes light contact with it: through the introduction of the Yan family, the Huamei Navy sends envoys to carry The gift entered the Ryukyu Palace, and after nearly half a month of negotiations, a simple maritime security cooperation agreement was signed with Ryukyu.
There are only two core contents of the agreement:
1. China and the United States recognize the national status of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the two countries work together to maintain friendly relations.
2. When conducting anti-piracy patrols in the East China Sea, the Chinese and American navies can park freely in the ports of the Kingdom of Ryukyu.
Although the Chinese and American people first appeared in Ryukyu, Chinese and American goods are already the most popular things among the Ryukyu people. The Huamei people were not as ambitious as the Japanese Satsuma clan in treating Ryukyu as a vassal that could be annexed at any time, or to squeeze it out economically. They were also more "polite" than the arrogant Zheng family and Yan family. Therefore, based on the self-knowledge that a weak country has no diplomacy, the Ryukyu Kingdom accepted this extremely pure diplomatic agreement within half a month.
"As long as the Ryukyu Kingdom can continue to exist, it doesn't matter who is more active in doing business here or whose military is more powerful. This is probably the way for Ryukyu to survive.
?? And Huamei¡¯s high-profile trip to Ryukyu was also deliberately done to show to certain forces. In the Ryukyu Kingdom, there are a large number of Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants and even pirates who are attached to the wings of the Zheng family. I believe someone will soon spread the news.
After that, the combined fleet left the Ryukyu Islands and embarked on the real destination of the trip - Edo Bay, Honshu, Japan. (To be continued.) - 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
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