July of the fifth year of Chongzhen, October 1633.

On the official road to Zhangzhou, more than 100 cavalry struggled to urge the horses sitting down under the guidance of a big banner, and galloped in the direction of Zhangzhou City along the official road between banana groves or citrus groves on both sides.

The cavalry in the ranks seemed to be deliberately showing off their equipment, all wearing eight-petal hats and iron-pointed helmets, cotton armor, and a cuirass on the outside, adding another layer of protection to the chest and back.

Surrounded by everyone, a flag bearer held a flag high and followed a snow-white war horse galloping. The officer on the horse, with a slight stubble on his white face, although galloping on the horse, his half-closed eyes that were somewhat astringent by the sea breeze made up for the lack of sleep these days.

The gallop of the horses brought with them gusts of wind, and the autumn wind rolled up the horns of the flag, blowing the cloaks of the cavalrymen, and the cloaks on the officers' bodies also rose and fell with the gusts of autumn wind, revealing the iron and steel swords carefully decorated with gold, silver, and jade at their waists.

A line of small characters embroidered on the flag identifies the official position of the person at the foot of the flag, and the big black letters embroidered in the white moonlight prove his surname.

"Five Tiger Guerrilla Generals!"

"Zheng!"

It was Zheng Zhilong and his team of pro-soldiers.

On September 22, Zou Weilian, the governor of Fujian, received a holy decree that Emperor Chongzhen severely punished the Dutch rebels. Zou Weilian immediately sent an edict to civil and military generals in various places not to talk about the word "mutual market" anymore, and "swore to fight to the death." On October 12, Zou Weilian arrived in Zhangzhou from the provincial capital. Dispatch the generals, the big boat division.

Zheng Zhilong and his entourage were ordered by the governor to come to Zhangzhou to participate in the reading of the holy decree and discuss the military aircraft.

Arrived at the city of Zhangzhou, look at the flags temporarily planted on the battlements on the head of the city, and listen to the sound of golden drums from afar, but unfortunately there are villages, forests, and temples, blocking the line of sight, and he can't see whether the officers and soldiers are practicing formations or practicing martial arts.

"I don't burn incense on weekdays, and I am cramming for a while! Old Five. You say yes and no?! ”

"Big brother. Exactly! This time to fight against Hongmaoyi, the official family still has to rely on the eldest brother! ”

At the city gate, I don't know if it was the armor and waists of the city gate officials guarding the city gate, the swords and firearms behind the horses, and the official documents that Zheng Zhilong ordered people to take out. Zheng Zhilong also had to take out the road guide before he could let them into the city.

"Pu you amo! Go! Say it to them. Lao Tzu never walked without leading the way. Lao Tzu is the Five Tigers guerrilla general Zheng Zhilong! I came to discuss the military aircraft at the behest of the governor! Don't let Lao Tzu enter the city, delaying the emperor's will, be careful of his dog's head! ”

Although the words are ruthless. But Zhilong still glanced at Zhibao, who slapped his horse and talked in a low voice with the city gate official amid the chaotic sound of the horse's nose and the sound of hooves hitting the bluestone slab.

"It is the business of the ordinary people to go out and lead the way, and we have never brought any road guides. This time, it was an urgent order from Lord Futai, and the starry night rushed to discuss the military plane, and he didn't bring any documents. However, we brought this thing, I don't know if it can be used as a guide? ”

As he spoke, Zhibao took out the bronze seal of Zhilong's Five Tiger Guerrilla Generals, shook it in front of the city gate official's eyes, and quietly stuffed a bag of silver dollars in his other hand, about a dozen pieces.

"It turned out to be Lord Zheng, and the humble general was ordered to guard this city gate, and where he was offended, he begged Lord Haihan." The city gate officials ordered the raggedly clad gatekeepers to move away from the horses and let Zheng Zhilong's horse team enter the city.

"It's not offensive, it's business!" After saying this, Zhilong came with a whip according to the horse's buttocks, and the group urged the horse into the city and went straight to the place where Lord Futai was going.

Governor Zou's line was set up in the Guandi Temple, probably to pray for the blessing of the Buddha and Demon Emperor of the Three Realms, and to win a complete victory in this expedition.

In the several streets and alleys around the Guandi Temple, there are soldiers of the Fubiao battalion patrolling the streets, as the direct personal soldiers of the governor of a province, their equipment is luxurious and luxurious compared with those soldiers at the city gate.

Almost everyone has cotton armor, not to mention, to the envy of ordinary soldiers, waist knives, spear heads, etc. are made of wrought iron, which is far stronger than the pig iron pieces in the hands of soldiers at the city gate.

The gate is set up in the square outside the Guandi Temple, and the two hundred families of the governor of the station here are more and more majestic and majestic, each of them is wearing a bright helmet on his head, and the swords and guns in his hands are shining dazzlingly in the autumn sun. On weekdays, two apricot yellow flags are hung on the two large flagpoles with a height of more than six zhang that hang the banner of "protecting the country and protecting the people", embroidered with Shuibo Liangshan, for the heavenly road. Wrong, wrong! It's mixed up with yesterday's storytelling. The flag on the left is embroidered with "Conquer the Rebellion", and the one on the right is embroidered with the words "Three Armies Division", and the stitches of the flag are still very new, and it is obvious that the tailors in the city spent a lot of money to make it.

In addition, there are two lines of flags erected outside the gate, each row is five, relatively even, the pole is one foot high and three feet, the flag is seven feet, all are flame-shaped apricot yellow flag edges, and the flag center is according to the color of the five directions. A flying tiger is embroidered in the center of each flag, and the color is prescribed according to the so-called principle of the five elements, for example, the flag representing the east is cyan, while the flying tiger in the middle is embroidered red, and the red flag yellow flying tiger representing the south, and so on. These ten flags are called the Flying Tiger Flag, which is the door flag of the governor's line. This street has been cut off from the common people, and even the horses of civil and military officials have to stop ten feet away from the gate.

Zheng Zhilong's horse team was stopped here by a thousand commanders of the Fubiao battalion, and the group dismounted one after another under the command of Zhibao, rested on the spot, and waited for the time when the governor would discuss the military aircraft.

With the sound of three cannons, the temple door of Guandi Temple was wide open. From the gate to the lobby, it is a deep two-entry compound, and a two-door in the middle. Outside the second gate stood eight guards; From the second gate to the bottom of the lobby steps, there are also two lines of guards standing on both sides of the wide stone-paved Yonglu Road. In the courtyard of the two entrances, there are many military flags of different colors and forms, embroidered with colorful patterns according to the direction of the five elements and the image of the twenty-eight houses. Under the stone steps outside the second gate, next to a stone lion on the left, there is a huge Chinese army seat made of dark green satin. inlaid with white silk flame-shaped edges; The apricot yellow tassel on the flagpole is five feet long, with a tasseled head and a beaded ornament; A silver spear is exposed on the tassel. The center of Daxu is embroidered with red Taiji diagram, surrounded by eight trigrams, and the outside is the stars such as fighting, bulls, houses, and hearts. The lobby is called White Tiger Hall, and two seven-foot-long leopard tail flags are erected under the steps, and the head of the flagpole is a sharp blade. This is a sign of the military aircraft land. This kind of flag was erected outside the door, and officials of all sizes were not allowed to enter without permission unless there was an order from the commander, and violators were punished. In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the commander could not do it. Military discipline is lax. It became a common situation.

Zou Weilian and Governor Zou did not show off this time, except for rectifying military discipline and boosting morale.

After the first shot. The civil and military officials entered the gate one after another. Wait solemnly outside the second gate. With the crowd of civil and military officials attending the meeting. Zhilong laughed at Lord Zou's tricks from his heart. "Whew! Ignorant and rotten, use this set of fancy shelves to bluff people?! "Haunted by the sea. He is accustomed to seeing the wind and waves, so he naturally will not be afraid of these, can the atmosphere created by human beings be more shocking than the power of heaven and earth?!

After the second cannon sounded, the drum music in the second door sounded, and Lord Zou was officially elevated to the seat in the sound of drumming. After turning the statue of Guan Gong, after saluting with incense in front of the statue, he sat down behind the Nanmu Gong case with a red satin brocade curtain in the middle, and bowed slightly to the Chengqi official on the side, who stood outside the main hall, shaking the dantian and shouting: "The governor ascends to the throne!" Officials come to you! ”

With the thunderous response from the colleagues around him who were not very familiar with each other, Zheng Zhilong carefully checked the armor, bows, arrows, swords and other items on his body. After a while, the preparations specially designed for the military attaches to meet the officials with a bow salute. Jin to see with a bow - the ancient military generals saw their bosses and saluted, and they should be draped all over their bodies to be considered very respectful. Not only did you have to wear a helmet and armor, but you also had to carry a bow and arrows. Bowing with this suit is called the "Bow Ceremony". "橐" is the one that holds the arrow, also known as "箙"; "鞬" is a bow, also called "弢".

According to the rules of Wen Dong and Wuxi, dozens of officials are divided into two lines. The civil officials wore tonal uniforms according to their ranks, and the generals were neatly armoured, carrying bows and arrows and swords. According to their grades, the officials paid a grand salute to Zou Weilian in turn, bowed and stood solemnly, waiting for instructions.

Lord Zou first ordered someone to ask for the holy decree wrapped in yellow silk, read it out in public, and then ordered everyone to get up and sit down, and glanced at the officials present with gray eyes.

"This Fu Jiu Mu Emperor is gracious, entrusted with a heavy responsibility, this oath will be wiped out, and the gentleman's kindness has been repaid in case! Either the world has received the grace of the country, or has been recognized by the present, they should work together, fight hard to kill the thief, report to His Majesty Xià Heavenly Grace, and return the peace of Li Shu. The first thing in today's meeting is to strictly enforce military discipline, reward meritorious service, and punish those who are guilty. If there is any person who neglects military orders and fails to fight effectively, this Futai will definitely participate in the impeachment, punish the crime severely, and never lenient the loan! ”

Speaking of this, Lord Zou was very dignified and looked at the faces of Zheng Zhilong, Gao Yingyue, Zhang Yongchan, Wang Shangzhong, Wu Zhenyuan, Chen Mengzhu and other military attaches one by one.

In this battle, the Fujian side mobilized hundreds of warships, which can be said to have made a bloody investment, and these people in front of them are the characters who want to personally go into battle to kill the enemy, unlike these civilian officials, who can be called strategizing, far away from the killing battlefield full of artillery, the same group of Qing literati who are excellent and wandering drink and write poems, talk about soldiers and swords, and then have the credit for their proper command and good scheduling. The defeat was caused by the military attachés cowering and avoiding the battle, fearing the enemy like tigers.

"Let's get to business!"

"Close the door!"

With another shout from Cheng Qiguan, the second door and gate of Guandi Temple made a squeaky sound, and then the door was closed and locked.

"General Zheng, I have heard that General Jiuwen has many ships and cannons, and his sons are brave, this time he has to fight against the enemy, and he has to ask your soldiers to fight bravely to kill the enemy!"

After the meeting, Lord Zou ordered the army to send Zheng Zhilong to his temporary signing room for a private reception.

This is also the proper meaning of the question. Just when the adults were discussing behind closed doors, the Chinese army received a secret order from the adults, quietly went out of the back door of the Guandi Temple, and conducted a private investigation of the military discipline of various ministries and armies in Zhangzhou City.

The Chinese army took off his official uniform and changed into a temporary blue half-worn round-necked lake and other green cotton robes, tied purple silk thread around his waist, and wore a seventy-percent Xinyuan Qinggong satin folded scarf, with a rectangular light jade on the front. This was the ordinary dress of ordinary scholars and gentry in the wilderness at that time, in the city of Zhangzhou, where they lived luxuriously because of their early trade with overseas. It's kind of a general dress.

Because it has always been a reason for trade with overseas, especially Nanyang, the houses on the streets of Zhangzhou are very Western-style, and among the houses, occasionally some huge canopies will poke out from the courtyard, covering the streets with shade, making the already deep alleys appear more and more dim.

Walking through two deep alleys to the street in front of the temple, this is a different scene.

The personal soldiers, family members, and palanquin bearers of the adults drank tea and rice in the teahouses and restaurants on both sides of the street in front of the temple. Loud and loud drinking. What's more, groups of people gathered under the temple walls of the Guandi Temple, and Hulu drank pheasants to gamble or roll dice. Or fighting cards. Groups in groups. It's not a gamble.

An alley a little farther away from the Guandi Temple is the famous flower street Willow Lane in Zhangzhou City, where groups of prostitutes are leaning on the door to sell their talents. Attracting the personal soldiers of the adults who don't know which one is going in and out here.

Only more than 100 Zheng Zhilong's personal soldiers who were waiting outside the gate, under the command and restraint of Zhibao, tied the horses very regularly, and used the bags and buckets they brought to eat and drink water for the horses. More than 100 cavalrymen were divided into three groups, one group went to the nearby restaurant to eat under the leadership of the general, and the other group fed and watered the war horses. Another group of people had unblinking eyes and the hilt of their hands on the hilt, just standing in front of the gate outside the temple.

"Among the armies, it seems that only Zheng Zhilong's department is available!"

After walking around the city, the Chinese army informed the governor of the conclusions of their observations. So, there was this one-on-one meeting.

"For this conquest of the Red Hair Yi and the rebellion, Feihuang has lived at sea for a long time, and he knows a lot about this generation, so he must have been confident?"

Lord Zou put on an attitude of folding and handing over, affectionately calling the word Zhilong, which in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the status of civil officials was high to almost pathological periods, which belonged to the military attache to great face.

Zheng Zhilong didn't care about that, and when he saw the governor asking him, he just said his opinion.

"My lord, the battle at sea depends on artillery power, and it depends on ship power. In the past, General Yu of Guangdong consulted Gao, and in the battle of recovering Penghu, he sighed and said, "Big ships are better than small boats, more ships are better than fewer ships, and more guns are better than fewer guns." The ship is faster than the ship is slower. ”

"Although our army has hundreds of large and small ships, there are only more than ten ships in the Dutch Hongmao Rebel Headquarters, and there are only less than 100 bandits in Liu Laoxiang's department, and the number of ships in our army is far superior to that of the rebel."

"It is in view of this that Benfu recruited ships along the coast of Fujian, in order to exterminate this thief in a war." Hearing what Zheng Zhilong, who has always been good at naval warfare, said that it was consistent with his own strategy, he couldn't help but feel quite complacent with his short beard.

"Don't be glad, sir, although there are many ships in our army, the number of sails and the number of cannons, compared with a single ship, is far inferior to the plywood ships of the Dutch! The ships of the Dutch East India Company, about ten zhang long, have dozens of guns of various types, drive on the sea, as fast as a galloping horse, faster than the wind and thunder, a ship's cannons, when the power of the mountain cracks the rock! ”

"According to another detailed report, there is another so-called Galen ship in the Dutch anti-Yi fleet. This ship is even better than the East India ship! It is reported that there are as many as three or four masts! The front two masts are hung with sails, and the rear two masts are hung with spinnakers, and the length and speed of the ship are far better than those of the East India ships! Because it has many sails and fast speed, it is conducive to seizing the upper hand position and making it easy to attack. ”

Hearing that his proud strategy was devalued by the pirate leader in front of him, he couldn't help but feel unhappy in his heart. However, I know my own affairs, if you want to win this battle, you have to rely on this annoying guy in front of you!

"I want to appoint General Feihuang as the vanguard of this battle, with Gao Yingyue as the left wing, Zhang Yongchan as the right wing, and Wang Shangzhong as the guerrilla, I don't know if the general can do it?"

Lord Zou threw out the appointment of this striker and threw it in front of Zheng Zhilong. Didn't you say this and that, flaunting yourself as an expert? Good! I'll let you, an insider, play as a striker! Let your men and ships wear out the Dutch fire!

"Pu your mother! Can't take Lao Tzu as Song Jiang?! Zheng Zhilong scolded in his heart, but he still knelt down and kowtowed to thank the governor for his cultivation.

"Xiong Du has praised General Feihuang in front of his students many times as a loyal and righteous man, and when I saw it today, sure enough, Xiong Du was not wrong!"

Seeing that Lord Zou praised himself, Zheng Zhilong pretended to drink the other party's poisonous wine as ginseng soup.

"In sea warfare, our ships and artillery are inferior to others, and the only way to fight hand-to-hand is to raise my strengths and avoid my weaknesses. Since you have the intention of ordering Zhilong to be the vanguard, can you hand over the ships collected this time to Zhilong for unified deployment and command? ”

"In addition, fighting for life at sea, there must be brave men under the so-called heavy reward, and I hope that the adults will set the reward to make up for the arrears, so that the soldiers can use their lives to stimulate the morale of the army."

Such a request is high-sounding and reasonable, knowing that Zheng Zhilong is taking the opportunity to extort money and expand his strength and influence, but Zou Weilian can't find a reason to refute him for a while.

"The ship can naturally be transferred to General Feihuang, as the so-called sword is given to the hero! When these ships are in the hands of General Feihuang, they will definitely be able to show their might and destroy the rebellion on the sea. It's just that the reward is announced, and now the treasury is empty, and it is necessary to prepare for war, add equipment and gunpowder, and use money everywhere, I am afraid it will be difficult to prepare for a heavy reward. I wonder what General Feihuang has planned? ”

"The subordinates thought that all those who participated in the war were given two dollars of silver for each soldier of each unit, and if the war was prolonged, an additional five dollars were given. Each fireship is 16 people, and if the Dutch ship is burned, two hundred taels of silver (16 cents) are given, and if there is a person who kills the head of the red-haired rebel, a Dutchman head is given fifty taels of silver. ”

"Shhh Hearing Zheng Zhilong's reward, he couldn't help but twist off a few of his beards, and gasped in pain.

"Feihuang, you don't know that the emptiness of the treasury has reached such a difficult point to maintain! Such a reward is the annual salary of a first-class member in the court, and it is only one hundred and twenty taels! ”

"My lord! Don't bother with the adults, other people's subordinates Feihuang dare not say it, but the reward of Feihuang's department is completely provided by Feihuang's own wealth! ”

"Good! Good! Good! The general is so loyal, it is worth showing the sun and the moon! After this battle, General Baoju was the deputy general of the Fujian Water Division, and controlled the water division of the province! ”

After the two old foxes finished bargaining, they looked at each other and smiled, Zhilong kowtowed and retreated, and turned back to Xiamen to prepare for the war.

On October 15, Zou Weilian, the governor of Fujian, sacrificed the flag to the sky and swore to fight.

The Battle of Liuluo Bay broke out. (To be continued......)