[245] Target Taiwan 1

Today's weather is very good, the sun is high in the sky, the breeze is blowing, the blue sea surface is wrinkled with ripples, and several dolphins jump out of the sea from time to time, drawing a shining scenery. The Dutch soldiers in the harbor did not want to appreciate the beauty, but were listless, and many of them had already packed their packages and were ready to leave the island flowing with milk and honey at any time.

The clouds of the fiasco at Liuluowan have not yet lifted, and recently, the letter of state of the Ming Emperor has been sent to the hands of Governor Frederick. Frederick Coyett, written in English as Frederick Coyett, translated as 揆一 in Chinese. The last Dutch governor of Taiwan, a Swede, was promoted to the rank of senior merchant in Batavia, and was later appointed director of the Japanese Dejima Shokan, and his appointment as governor of Taiwan was only recent.

"Hmph~ Damn natives!" Frederick crumpled the yellow silk and threw it into the brazier, "Formosa is a good cow for the company, I will never give it to these ignorant Oriental natives!" ”

Frederick said this for no reason, the Dutch plundered a great deal of wealth in Taiwan, and among the 25 trading houses of the East India Company in Asia, the Dutch colonists in Taiwan were the second most profitable, accounting for 25.5% of the total profits. The average annual fortune shipped back to the Netherlands amounted to 400,000 guilders, equivalent to 4 tons of gold. At the time of productivity, this was astronomical. Deerskins, for example, were the main export material from Taiwan at that time, and at its peak in 1638, the Netherlands exported 150,000 deerskins from Taiwan to Japan alone. At that time, Japan was in the Warring States period, and Japanese samurai liked to make "Jinhaoori" out of deerskin. The wealth of the colonizers plundering Taiwan is difficult to calculate.

The Dutch garrison in Taiwan, officials, businessmen and family members regularly maintained 2,000-3,000 men, including more than 1,000 in the military. With these forces, it is very difficult to implement effective rule. After entering the island, they forced the local residents to submit to the same bandit acts as they did in Madou Village and Xiaoliuqiu Island. By the end of 1636, agreements had been signed in 57 villages to maintain Dutch rule over these areas. By the end of 1645, the sphere of influence had expanded to the central and eastern parts of the developed West Coast Plain. He ruled over about 60,000 local residents, accounting for 40-50% of the population at that time.

Frederick was well aware that it was impossible to rely on more than 1,000 troops to fight the populous Ming Empire on land. The only hope is to defeat these Oriental natives in a naval battle, so that they have no chance to get to Taiwan at all. So, Frederick sent a letter of help to the Dutch governor of Batavia early in the morning

Frederick looked at the yellow silk that was gradually burning out in the brazier, and said to the adjutant beside him: "Go and tell the natives that we have no right to make decisions, and that we must consult the governor of Batavia and ask them to wait patiently for a few days!" ”

"It's ~ sir!"

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"Hmph~~ Delaying the army!" Song Youliang, who had already come to Fuzhou to supervise the war, listened to the envoy's report and said disdainfully: "Does the Dutch red hair want to wait for reinforcements from Batavia to arrive?" I'm not going to give them that chance! ”

At this time, Zheng Zhilong took his son Zheng Sen to the governor's yamen to meet Song Youliang. Regarding Song Youliang's visit to Fujian this time, Zheng Zhilong was a little apprehensive. Because Zheng Zhilong knew that he was domineering in Fujian, and his role was hugely rich, it was difficult to ensure that people would not be blushing

"Fujian General Soldier Zheng Zhilong takes the order!" The accompanying eunuch took out a holy decree, "Kneel!" ”

"Fengtian carrier, the emperor's edict said: Zheng Zhilong is loyal to the country~~~" The eunuch shook his head and read a long list of words, and finally said: "Canonize Zheng Zhilong as the Marquis of Haiwei, hereditary replacement, admiration!" ”

"Thank you, Lord Longen, long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live~!" Zheng Zhilong and his son Zheng Sen kowtowed together to thank him, but not towards the Holy Decree or the north, but towards Song Youliang. Everyone knows that it is this horse master and An Guogong who have the final say.

Song Youliang hurriedly stepped forward to help Zheng Zhilong and his son, and said, "Hou Ye doesn't have to be polite~ Does Hou Ye know why His Majesty named Hou Ye Haiweihou?" ”

Zheng Zhilong shook his head, "Weichen is stupid, he doesn't dare to figure out the holy will casually!" ”

Zheng Sen was young and vigorous, and said: "Haiwei, Haiwei, Haiwei!" ”

"Exactly~" Song Youliang said: "The banquet has been prepared in the inner hall, please come inside to talk!" ”

Being able to have lunch with an uncrowned king like Song Youliang made the Zheng family feel extremely honored. Song Youliang first had a family affair with Zheng Zhilong, and then praised him for having a good son. Slowly, Zheng Zhilong got rid of the tension and restraint at the beginning, half of which was Song Youliang's approachability, and the other half was the stimulation of alcohol.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Song Youliang changed his words, praised him for his rich experience in naval warfare, and counted the battles he had been proud of to exterminate pirates over the years, especially the Battle of Liuluo Bay in Chongzhen's sixth year

Although Zheng Zhilong said that he didn't dare to take it seriously, it was difficult to hide the pride and pride on his face

Seeing him slowly ascend to the Tao, Song Youliang said: "Has General Zheng stayed in Taiwan before?" ”

"Grandpa, not only have you stayed there, Taiwan is really a good place, there is a lot of fertile land, it's a pity!" Zheng Zhilong sighed

"What a pity?" Song Youliang asked him deliberately.

"It's now occupied by the Dutch red-haired people~~!" Zheng Zhilong said

Song Youliang squinted his eyes and said coldly: "But this worker heard that after the victory of Liuluo Bay, the Dutch paid a large amount of money to your fleet every year, and you guaranteed the safety of their ships, can you do this?" ”

Zheng Zhilong was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Grandpa~~This~This~~"

Song Youliang put on a smiling face at this time and said, "Don't worry, my father-in-law didn't come to Fujian this time for this." ”

Zheng Sen also quickly diverted the topic, relieved his father, and said, "Does Grandpa have the intention to expel the Dutch red hair?" ”

Song Youliang nodded, and said solemnly: "Taiwan is my Chinese territory, how can we let foreign countries steal it?" My father knows that your Zheng family is familiar with maritime affairs, so this time I came to ask for help for the people of Taiwan! After that, Song Youliang actually left his seat, knelt down in front of Zheng Zhilong with a puff, and said: "On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I ask Haiweihou!" ”

Song Youliang turned over and over this hand, making Zheng Zhilong at a loss and standing on the spot. Zheng Sen also reminded Zheng Zhilong to kneel down in front of Song Youliang and said, "Grandpa made this big gift, it was really a great killing." It is the duty of our warriors to defend our homeland and the country. Zheng Zhilong, as the general soldier of Fujian, sat back and watched the Dutch red hair steal our Ming land, which is already a capital crime. Thanks to His Majesty and Grandpa for ignoring their past suspicions, they are still so reused, my Zheng family is full of only liver and brain, and death will be repaid! ”

"Good!" Only then did Song Youliang stand up and say, "Zheng Zhilong listens to the seal!" ”

"Wechen is here!"

"He ordered Haiweihou Zheng Zhilong to be the naval division of Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong provinces, and the governor of the infantry army, and to recover Taiwan. His son Zheng Sen listened to it! ”

"Chen Zheng Zhilong takes the order!" Zheng Zhilong replied loudly

Song Youliang asked again: "Hai Weihou, you have fought with the Dutch red hair, how sure are you of recovering Taiwan this time?" ”

Zheng Zhilong thought for a while and said: "The Dutch Hongmao ship is very large, thirty zhang long, six zhang wide, more than two feet thick, with five masts, and a three-story building behind it. There is a small window next to the copper cannon. A two-zhang huge iron cannon is set up under the mast, which can crack the stone city and sonic shock for dozens of miles. However, they also have disadvantages, that is, the boat is difficult to turn, and sometimes when it encounters shallow sand, it cannot move. And these red-haired people can't actually be called good at fighting, what they rely on is their own ships and guns, if they are really swords, they are still our Chinese sons, they are not a child at all! ”

"Don't underestimate it!" Song Youliang said: "In this battle, this guild personally led the North Sea Fleet to help in the war!" ”

Zheng Zhilong asked, "But those giant ships when Wei Chen and Grandpa met at sea last time?" ”

"Exactly!" Song Youliang replied with a smile

"With these giant ships to help in the war, the naval warlords are ninety percent sure." Zheng Zhilong said: "But in the land war, the soldiers and horses of these three provinces can be ~!" ”

Song Youliang said: "You don't have to worry about this, this guild will transfer the latest elite infantry for you to deploy, and they are equipped with the most elite firearms. After that, Song Youliang personally brought a glass of wine for Zheng Zhilong, "Hai Weihou, please drink this cup!" ”

Zheng Zhilong was so moved at the moment that even if Song Youliang poured him a cup of urine, he would not hesitate to drink it

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Zheng Zhilong raised his neck, drank all the wine in the cup, and then returned to Nan'an with his son Zheng Sen overnight to discuss the major matter of recovering Taiwan.

Returning to the Nan'an base camp, Zheng Zhilong immediately issued a mobilization order for the rivers and lakes as he did during the Battle of Liuluowan. He used his private treasury to give his men a reward: two taels of silver for each of the combatants, and an additional five taels if the fighting was prolonged. Each fireship was 16 men, and if the Dutch ship was burned, two hundred taels of silver (16 cents) were given, and a Dutchman's head was given fifty taels of silver. Considering the monthly salary of the seven-grade officials of the imperial court at that time, the monthly salary of today's county and department-level cadres is only about five taels of silver, which is quite high. The high reward and the anger aroused by the righteousness of the rivers and lakes made Zheng Zhilong's subordinates morale high. The pirates of the coastal generation also responded to the call and joined Zheng Zhilong's army

His subordinates were all happy for him, because he could command 100,000 elites and tens of thousands of navies in the two provinces, which was an unprecedented reuse.

Zheng Zhilong looked at the old brothers under his subordinates who were born and died: "Brothers, show the prestige of our brothers, let An Guogong see, in the future, we can also talk in the court, and it is easy to get promoted and get rich!" ”

"Dragon's head! Although the ship of the Westerners is large, our brothers are not afraid of him. But their Taiwan city is not easy to attack! ”

"Yes, I have seen that city, there are two hundred and seventy zhang around it, three zhang high, divided into three layers, their lower layer is more than one zhang deep underground, and the city wall is strong. The four corners protrude outward, and twenty cannons are placed, and in addition, there are ten giant cannons in the north and south, and it is difficult to attack it! Difficult! ”

"Yes! Dragon's head, this is not just a naval battle, if you just talk about naval warfare, give me half of the ship and I can make them unable to go back, but in land warfare, the firearms of the Dutch red hair are very powerful! The lively atmosphere in the room suddenly cooled down, and everyone was thinking about this thorny issue.

Zheng Zhilong said with a smile: "Don't worry, An Guogong has made a big decision this time, at that time, the giant ships in the North Sea will come to help in the war, and they will also drop the elite infantry for me to call, these infantry troops are equipped with the most elite firearms, which are said to be more powerful than the red-haired people!" Zheng Zhilong's words made the subordinates feel a little more relieved, but everyone was still worried about the huge casualties that might come

Liu Guoxuan, the general of Zheng Zhilong's subordinates, suddenly said: "He Bin, who worked with us before, is now working for the Netherlands, why don't you contact this person and come to meet with the outside world?" ”

"Good! Send someone immediately, sneak to Taiwan immediately, let them find He Bin, and tell him that I want to see him! Zheng Zhilong said with a smile

"Yes!"

Before Zheng Zhilong's words fell, a pawn came to report, saying that someone from Taiwan was coming, and it was none other than He Bin

He Bin came to see Zheng Zhilong, and when he met, he was very excited: "The dragon head, I haven't seen it for many years, I miss it very much, my brother gave the dragon head a gift!" Then he bowed down.

"Worried? You are now working hard for the Red Hair, I heard that the Red Hair is very appreciative and trusting, and you have also become an elder of the Red Embedded City, and have obtained the privilege of operating a sampan ferry and cutting and selling firewood in the local area. He also often travels back and forth between Japan and the South Seas, transporting and selling a large number of goods. It's the time to eat and drink spicy food, what do I have to worry about? Zheng Zhilong said coldly.

He Bin was embarrassed with a little sadness and indignation, "Dragon, little brother, I am in Cao Ying, my heart is in Han!" Those people aren't things. They're doing a lot of bad things on the island! ”

"Aren't you their boss? The red-haired people also made you rich, do you hate them? Zheng Zhilong deliberately clichéd.

He Bin said excitedly: "Dragon, don't be sarcastic about the little brother, hate!" Hate! They are all descendants of China, how can they not hate? Longtou, to be honest, I came to Fujian this time because I heard about the current imperial court. The little brother hopes that you can play to the court through the dragon head and ask for the recovery of Taiwan. ”