Chapter Forty-Six: The Emperor Helps the King to Attack

After a few days of preparation, Zhang Zhimu was about to give Yang Chang a lesson when he was suddenly interrupted.

Emperor Chongzhen, who returned to the capital, sent a telegram to Zhang Zhimu, and then this year's Huaihe River basin and Yangtze River basin once again sent a big flood. There have been embankment failures in many places on the Huai River, but fortunately, the embankment on this side of the Fen River has been strengthened well, and there is no great danger.

However, the telegram from Emperor Chongzhen made Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He very happy.

Emperor Chongzhen came up to telegraph that I had asked Zheng Zhilong about hiring Qiankun Men to assassinate you. Zheng Zhilong had already telegraphed back that this matter was indeed not instructed by him, but was done behind his back, and he was investigating the matter. After finding out, he will definitely give Zhang Dongjia an explanation.

After reading the telegram sent by Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng couldn't stop laughing, "Haha! If you're really sleepy, someone will send a pillow! ”

"I see that we are like this, Mr. Zhang, we will give Emperor Chongzhen such a few words, why did the people below Zheng Zhilong want to assassinate me? Such a big thing, without Zheng Zhilong's approval, would others dare to do it? It takes a lot of silver to hire Qiankunmen, does his men have so much silver? After Ouyang He finished speaking, he personally picked up a pen and wrote a telegram.

Zhang Zhimu and Chen Yufeng looked at it, nodded in agreement, and asked Li Zhi to come over and translate it into a code and send it to Emperor Chongzhen.

"It seems that the emperor has helped us a lot!" Zhang Zhimu said, "We have also been speculating that there is a possibility that Zheng Zhilong did this matter, and we have not been able to prove it, and now the emperor has helped solve it!" Hehe! It's providential. ”

"Our Chuang Wang Ye has been waiting impatiently, and several telegrams have urged us that they are going to attack." Ouyang He said, "But Fan Chengkun telegraphed back and said that he would give them a few more days." ”

"I think it's better to let Li Zicheng fight on land first to attract Zheng Zhilong's attention, and then we rush over from the sea. Because we want to occupy Quanzhou suddenly, otherwise our branch will have losses, and we can't notify them to retreat now, which will arouse Zheng Zhilong's vigilance. Chen Yufeng said.

"I have no opinion," Mr. Zhang said, "militarily, you can make your own decisions." ”

"That's it, no matter what Fan Chengkun prepares in three days, he will leave Hong Kong and set off. Inform Li Zicheng to start the offensive tomorrow. And tell Li Zicheng the details, don't let us think that we are playing with him! Ouyang He said.

"Then it's decided, otherwise it's always on the mind. If they fight, I'm afraid we will have to fight the disaster. Chen Yufeng said, "I hope that things will get better in Huaihe next year." ”

"It is also necessary to inform the Hexi and Hetao sides that they are ready to receive and resettle the victims. The Huai River basin is also too densely populated. Zhang Zhimu said.

"Look at Tang Jingyao's past, can you come up with a good idea to solve the Huaihe matter fundamentally?" Ouyang He said, "We have no problem with several rivers in Shanxi, and it seems that someone still needs to pay attention to this matter." Our officials are responsible, and things are done. In the past, there were often accidents in the Fen River, Qinshui River, and Hutuo River, but in recent years, it has been much better. It's still well governed. ”

There is a reason why the people of Yaogang attach great importance to this Zheng Zhilong. This Zheng Zhilong is not an ordinary person, although he was born as a pirate, he has won the hearts of the people of Fujian. This person plundered and killed at sea, but he was extremely merciful to the local people in Fujian, not only did not kill people, but even relieved the poor, and his prestige was higher than that of the government.

In the sixth year of Chongzhen, Zhilong defeated the fleet of the Dutch East India Company in the Battle of Kinmen off the coast of Fujian, and since then he has controlled the sea routes and collected fees for merchant ships from various countries, and Zheng Zhilong has quickly become rich. has become the lord and sea overlord of southern Fujian, and gave the Zheng family's order flag to the merchant ships that paid protection fees to Zhilong; If you don't pay and want to pass through the Zhilong Sea area, I am afraid that you will not escape the fate of being robbed. Generally, a large ship needs to pay 3,000 taels of silver. That's a lot of money.

Zheng Zhilong's trade scope is wide and covers all parts of the East and South Seas: Da Ni, Huni, Champong, Luzon, Yonggang, Beigang, Dayuan, Hirado, Nagasaki, Mumbai, Banten, Old Port, Batavia, Malacca, Cambodia, Siam, including Han Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Austronesian languages, African blacks and other races, with more than 200,000 troops at sea, with a fleet of more than 3,000 large and small boats, becoming the only power in the maritime world of East China and South China. As a result of the battle with Li Zicheng, there are now 300,000 infantry, and it is estimated that there are about 200,000.

And Zheng Zhilong now has another identity, that is, the chief military officer of Fujian, and the governor of the capital.

The governor is a big official. The court of the Ming Dynasty set up the five military governors' offices, each of which set up the left and right governors, and the left and right governors set up the governors of Tongzhi, from the first product, to assist the left and right governors to manage the capital divisions and guards under the jurisdiction of the government. The governor's offices in Nanjing and Beijing are exactly the same.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the current Zheng Zhilong is a combination of officials and bandits.

Fan Chengkun, who is old and serious, is of course very aware of Zheng Zhilong's strength. Fan Chengkun knows better that there will not be much difficulty in solving Zheng Zhilong militarily, and the difficulty is how to take over the strength of Zheng Zhilong's group without destroying it. The reason why Fan Chengkun had to wait for the second 5,000-ton ship to be used was to transport more infantry at one time. Because after the raid on Quanzhou Port, it is impossible to do it without infantry in Quanzhou Port.

With years of experience in ups and downs, Zheng Zhilong has long felt the threat brought by the kiln people, although the strength of the kiln people is far from being able to reach out to Fujian and the sea, but Zheng Zhilong can see that the kiln people will always have such a day. The Yaogang people want to buy Lin Zongwei's big ship, and this ambition will be exposed, so Zheng Zhilong, you can buy this Lin Zongwei's ship first, and it will not let the Yaogang people succeed. Especially after Zheng Zhilong saw Zhang Zhimu, he felt that this person was not simple. Therefore, he was determined to get rid of Zhang Zhimu to avoid future troubles. But assassinating Zhang Zhimu is not a simple matter. The strength of the kiln gang people cannot be ignored, Zheng Zhilong is a businessman, and he doesn't want the kiln gang people to use all their strength against themselves, so they don't dare to send their own people to kill Zhang Zhimu, because in that case, once exposed, no matter whether they succeed or not, the kiln gang people will use all their strength to deal with themselves, and it is difficult for them to have a chance of winning. After discussing with his subordinates, he spent a lot of money to hire Qiankun Sect, which had been silent on the rivers and lakes for a long time, through the Heaven and Earth Society under his control, to do this. Because Qiankun Gate is very hidden, it will not leave any hidden dangers if it can't be done. And Zheng Zhilong also knows that there are several forces that want Zhang Zhimu to die now, and it is generally difficult to think that it was hired by himself.

But to Zheng Zhilong's disappointment, Qiankun Gate missed several shots, but fortunately there was no trace. But when he heard the news that the Yaogang people had exterminated the cottage of Qiankun Gate and saved a few prisoners, Zheng Zhilong was a little worried. However, he also had a glimmer of hope, because it was not himself who hired the Qiankun Sect, but through the Heaven and Earth Society. There may also be those who were rescued who had a very low status inside the Qiankun Gate, and it was impossible to know who the Qiankun Gate was connected with.

Sure enough, after a period of time, there was nothing unusual about the kiln gang people, and the person sent to monitor the kiln gang branch also said that they didn't find anything different about them. They are busy doing business all day long, and there are many people coming and going every day.

In this way, Zheng Zhilong felt a little more at ease. At sea, although Zheng Zhilong is very worried about the steam warships in Yaogang, it is said that there are only a few dozen steam ships in Yaogang, and there are only about ten large ships. This can almost be ignored in Zheng Zhilong's eyes, and when it comes to the sea, it is not just a boat, it takes many years of experience in floating on the sea. I have more than 3,000 large and small ships, all of which came out of the wind and waves, not like Zhang Zhimu, who practiced them in the inland river, that is a real skill.

Of course, Zheng Zhilong also heard that the steel-hulled warships of the Yaogang people were very powerful, but Zheng Zhilong also knew that a good tiger could not withstand a pack of wolves. As long as you dare to come to the sea, surround them with warships, and I will see how you can do it.

In fact, during this time, what made Zheng Zhilong feel relieved was that his own team on land actually withstood the fierce attack of Li Zicheng's army in a hundred battles, and Li Zicheng's army disengaged from them and hid far away. Of course, the Zheng family father and son spent a lot of silver for this, but the silver can be spent and earned, and it is not enough to spend a tiger and wolf division to fight a tiger and wolf division.

However, not long after Li Zicheng and the others stopped, news came that Li Zicheng had close ties with the Yaogang people. In the end, it was confirmed that Li Zicheng had carried out a large-scale reorganization of the army, and the equipment used was also supported by the kiln gang. Zheng Zhilong thought that the news of his employment of Qiankunmen was known to the people of Yaogang, and the people of Yaogang wanted to borrow Li Zicheng's hand to deal with him. However, after reporting the situation to the imperial court, the emperor's secret news to them was that Li Zicheng and the Yaogang people made peace on the condition that they would abandon Zhejiang, and the Yaogang people would support their expedition to Annam. This made Zheng Zhilong overjoyed. If this Li Zicheng is far away, no one will threaten them to make a lot of money in Fujian.

However, Zheng Zhilong, who had an exceptionally sensitive nose, still faintly smelled an ominous smell, and he quietly discussed with his son Zheng Chenggong to hide some of the gold and silver treasures on an uninhabited island in the sea. He also secretly contacted the Hongmaofan (Dutch) in Ryukyu (Taiwan) and agreed that no one else would be allowed to touch this sea area, and if there was an invasion by outsiders, they would work together to drive out the invaders. Zheng Zhilong can be regarded as having exhausted the organs.

Originally, Li Zicheng had already stopped, and after a few days of peace, the secret letter sent to him by Emperor Chongzhen shocked Zheng Zhilong. Emperor Chongzhen asked him why he attacked the kiln gang people, and now the kiln gang people have accurate evidence, and it is I who stopped the kiln gang and did not make trouble. But they still have to prove it in the end.

Zheng Zhilong was a little flustered now, he knew that on land, they couldn't stop the kiln people no matter what. So he replied to the emperor with a letter and pushed the matter onto his subordinates. At this time, Zheng Zhilong didn't realize that the danger was approaching, and he once again got no abnormal news from the person who monitored the branch of the kiln gang. Zheng Zhilong believes that now the people of Yaogang are still far away from him, and they are separated by Li Zicheng. But he never expected that the kiln man would strike a fatal blow to him from the sea where he thought he was powerful.

After Li Zicheng left the kiln, he was relaxed. He understands that as long as he gives up the idea of becoming the emperor, everything will be easy. In fact, he understands that there are Yaogang people, and his emperor can't be the emperor. After staying in Yaogang for a while, he admired the Yaogang people even more, not that he saw the difference in strength between himself and the Yaogang people, but the scheming of the Yaogang people, which simply made Li Zicheng admire the five-body throw. Besides, the things that Yaogang does are all things that are beneficial to the people, and he also has the intention to make the people better, but his team and himself do not have this ability. When he made up his mind to join the team of Yaogang people, all the pressure and troubles were gone, and what he lost was his dream of being the emperor. If your brothers follow the kiln, they will also have a good future. It was the people who were cut out of the army and the officials who followed him, and the people of Yaogang agreed to make arrangements, which made Li Zicheng feel particularly gratified.

After coming back, many people below couldn't accept their decision at once, and Li Zicheng could understand it very well, because many people who followed him have been dreaming of sitting in the world. However, Li Zicheng adopted the method of sending them to the kiln to visit and study, so that they knew that it was very unrealistic for them to dream of sitting in the world. After these civil and military people returned, they fought to send their families to Yaogang, which means that they were conquered by the Yaogang people. Therefore, the plan on my side went exceptionally smoothly. More than 500 middle- and lower-ranking officers went to the kiln post for training, and after they returned, they were assigned to various teams, and they were all instructors for military training. They have improved their skills in using muskets and hands so much better. The army that has undergone reorganization and training has been refined into more than 300,000. The team that changed into the Yaogang military uniform suddenly had a different mental outlook. Many soldiers have never worn such a good costume in their lives. The army's food is better than before, not only to ensure three full meals a day, but also to use refrigerated ships to transport a lot of beef and mutton, each meal at least meat soup to drink. For Li Zicheng's Dashun Army, this was simply unthinkable before. From top to bottom, I have experienced the benefits of following the kiln people. The morale of the army was quickly stabilized.

One of the difficult things is that the soldiers of the Dashun Army, as well as the officials who have been following them, are unwilling to leave the Dashun Army and themselves, and want to follow them to Annam. Li Zicheng knew that it was for the sake of moving forward lightly, and it was impossible to go to Annan. But when Li Zicheng told Yaogang about it in an embarrassment, the Yaogang people thought of a compromise solution. That is, later, these people can be slowly sent to Hainan Island, which is very close to Annam, and when the Dashun army has a firm foothold in Annam, they can be sent to Annam from Hainan. This made Li Zicheng admire the kiln people even more. It seems that there is nothing in this world that the kiln gang people can't solve.

The strength of the Dashun army after the reorganization and training has increased, and they want to fight. is tied with Zheng Zhilong, but they are not convinced.

Now the Dashun army and Zheng Zhilong's army are facing each other across the Min River. The last battle in which the Dashun army suffered a lot of losses was the attack on Fuzhou Mansion, and the Dashun army concentrated a lot of forces to besiege it. However, Zheng Zhilong's army relied on the three mountains of Pingshan, Wushan, and Yushan in Fujian to defend Fuzhou, and with the help of artillery fire from ships entering the Minjiang River, the Dashun army did not capture Fuzhou.

This is also a major reason why the Dashun Army did not break through the Min River and attack and advance southward.

Now the Dashun army, which is full of soldiers and food, has sufficient weapons and ammunition, and the top and bottom are thinking about a shame before the snow, and then a big battle with Zheng Zhilong's army. However, Li Zicheng sent several telegrams to Yaogang to ask about the time of the attack, and Yaogang's answer was that he was not ready. Li Zicheng knew that if the kiln gang didn't do it, it would be enough, and if he did it, he would win, so no matter how Liu Zongmin and them jumped, he was not in a hurry, he just waited patiently for the news of the kiln.

Finally, waiting for the news that the Yaogang people agreed to attack, Li Zicheng gathered everyone together and announced the order to march. However, the direction of the march does not include the direction of Fuzhou. Because the ships of the Yaogang people would arrive a few days later. After the Yaogang people finished dealing with Quanzhou and Zheng Zhilong, they could send out warships to support the Fuzhou battle.

Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing both agreed to wait for the Yaogang people to fight Fuzhou again. Because they had all seen with their own eyes the terrible scene of the Yaogang people bombarding the outer positions on the Yangtze River outside Yingtianfu (Nanjing), they knew that with the support of the Yaogang people's warships, it would be a trivial matter to capture Fuzhou. Otherwise, if you completely rely on your own strength to fight Fuzhou, I don't know how many people will die, and if Zheng Zhilong's fleet comes to support again, I don't know what the results will be.

Li Zicheng repeatedly emphasized that when we started the war this time, the people of Yaogang mobilized the naval army, and the army took us as the main force. We moved first to attract the attention of Zheng Zhilong's army, and then create conditions for the Yaogang naval army to raid. Now we eat and use good things, don't let the kiln people see our jokes.

Starting with Niu Jinxing, generals such as Song Xiance and Liu Zongmin all said that they would do their best. This battle was personally commanded by Liu Zongmin.

Once the operational principles are determined, the method of play will be simple.

The Dashun army divided the army into three routes, one led by Yuan Zongdi, attacking Shaowu from the foot of Wuyi Mountain, one led by Gao Yigong to attack Yanping (Nanping) along Nanpu River, and one led by Tian Jianxiu to approach Fuzhou without fighting.

As soon as the battle began, the attack of the Dashun army, which was bound to win, did not go as smoothly as expected. Although the Dashun army, which had sufficient ammunition, fired Shao Wu and Yanping (Nanping) for several days, no substantial progress was made on the first day.

Li Zicheng and the others made full preparations, and Zheng Zhilong, who was not bad for money, did not dare to be ambiguous, and they also made full preparations. Layers of obstacles were set up outside each city, the city walls were reinforced, and the artillery on the city walls was also lined up, and the artillery battles with the Dashun army did not fall behind at all. The musketeers ** issued by Yaogang to the Dashun Army were not useful at all.

The battle situation in front of Li Zicheng truthfully reported to the Yaogang side. However, Ouyang He directly forwarded the telegram to Fan Chengkun's side, and told Dashun Jun that in the future, there would be a battle report directly reported to Fan Chengkun, who was the commander-in-chief of the former enemy.

Fan Chengkun sent a telegram back to the Dashun army: "If the attack is difficult, don't be reluctant, don't care about the life and death of the soldiers for the sake of face, you just keep putting pressure on Zheng Zhilong and them, it's best to make them feel that they can't hold on, we don't capture them yet, and let Zheng Zhilong transfer the troops from other places to the best." ”

Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance pushed such a big matter to Fan Chengkun on the side of Yaogang, which was incredible. However, when they saw Fan Chengkun's telegram, they also understood that the top leaders of Yaogang did not believe a former enemy general for no reason. They could see that Fan Chengkun, the commander of the naval army that they hadn't paid attention to before, was not an ordinary person.

After reading Fan Chengkun's telegram, Song Xiance immediately informed Liu Zongmin, who was in the former enemy. Liu Zongmin also understood after reading the telegram, the artillery fire of the attack was more violent, and the attack was blocked when it was retreated, and then the artillery bombardment always caused a lot of pressure on Zheng Zhilong's army.

Although Zheng Zhilong's defenders relied on the rivers, these rivers were shallow, and Zheng Zhilong's large warships could not come, so they could not get the fire support of the warships. The experience of those generals who defended the city was still limited, and they couldn't see the tactics of the Dashun army, but they kept sending people back to ask for help, saying how great the danger they were facing.

Zheng Zhilong also understood that Li Zicheng's strength was not ordinary after more than a year of reorganization, so he immediately mobilized his army to assemble near the Minjiang River to support the frontline operation. It's just that he doesn't understand, Emperor Chongzhen clearly said that Li Zicheng and the Yaogang people made an agreement to go to Annan, but why did they suddenly attack them again.

Suddenly, Zheng Zhilong patted his head, wondering if Li Zicheng also knew that he had hired someone to kill Zhang Zhimu and vented his anger for Zhang Zhimu. Perhaps it was Zhang Zhimu who instructed Li Zicheng to attack. Zheng Zhilong hurriedly asked someone to send a letter to the emperor and ask what was going on. Until now, Zheng Zhilong, who was smart, didn't know that the knife that the kiln man slashed at him had fallen.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".