Can you get to Manila in more than 20 days?

Zhou Shixiang was surprised, because he estimated in advance that it would be impossible for a sail-driven sea vessel to reach the Philippines from the coast of Fujian so quickly. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info he thinks it's at least three months.

Liu Guoxuan then explained that it is impossible for sea ships to reach Luzon so quickly, and in March every spring, there will be trade winds, so the speed of the ship is very fast, and it can reach Luzon in more than 20 days. Normally, it takes two or three months.

Gan Hui saw that Zhou Shixiang cared so much about Luzon, and couldn't help asking, "Your Highness has to crusade against the Luzon Spaniards?" ”

Zheng Xi was taken aback, shook his head and said: "King Qi, the eldest brother also wanted to crusade against Luzon back then, and the reason why he failed was that the eldest brother had to prepare for the northern expedition to the southern capital at that time, but the other reason was that he was going to expedition to Luzon, which consumed a lot of money. ”

Zheng Xi's implication was naturally not optimistic about the expedition to Luzon, and he subconsciously thought that if Zhou Shixiang really wanted to go on an expedition to Luzon, his subordinates would most likely be recruited, which would undoubtedly weaken his power as the prince of Fujian. Although he had already surrendered to Zhou Shixiang, Zheng Xi never thought of going to Nandu to be a Prince of Anle, he just wanted to continue to stay in Jinxia like his eldest brother.

Huang Zhao frowned and said: "Right now, the north is still in the hands of the Tartars, and the King of Qi doesn't want to go on a northern expedition, but wants to go on an expedition overseas, is there a bit of a lack of importance?" ”

Like those officials back then, in Huang Zhao's eyes, overseas Chinese were just untouchables, not worth mobilizing. If Zhou Shixiang ignored the undecided north and Wu Sangui, who killed the monarch, was not pacified, and conquered Luzon with the strength of the whole country, it would be very unfavorable to the plan to restore vision.

The foundation of China lies in the two capitals and eighteen provinces, and no matter how beneficial it is overseas, it is not a fundamental place. Ignoring the fundamentals is to shake the current excellent situation that has been achieved with great difficulty. If the expedition to Luzon consumed the strength of the Ming army, causing the Manchus to gain respite and re-sweep the south, then Zhou Shixiang would be a sinner through the ages.

Liu Guoxuan and others also had doubts in this regard, and looked at Zhou Shixiang nervously one by one.

Zhou Shixiang sighed secretly in his heart, the massacre of the Chinese by the Spaniards did make him indignant, but what Zheng Xi and Huang Zhao said was also reality. Zhejiang and Fujian have just recovered, and Zhejiang has just returned, and the damage is not serious. Fujian is a mess, and in particular, the loss of population is no less than that of Liangguang, which can be seen from what he saw and heard on the way south.

The rapid decline in population not only destroyed the local cultural living and production environment, but also greatly restricted the development of the Taiping Army, and also limited some of Zhou Shixiang's deployments.

There are people who have everything. Only with some people can there be production, only with production can there be money and grain harvest, and only with money and grain can we build an army and develop national strength. No matter how advanced and desirable Zhou Shi is relative to the future design of the Ming Dynasty, and lacks the most basic human link, then all his ideas are empty and unrealistic.

In Fujian, in order to embody the word "recovery", so that the people in Fujian who have kept braids for more than ten years can once again perceive the good of the Ming Dynasty, and perceive the good of His Royal Highness the King of Qi and the soldiers of the Taiping Army, Zhou Shixiang needs to do not only ask the people to braid their hair, but to restore production and increase the population through various measures, for which he needs to provide a lot of things to the Fujian people who have survived the disaster. There are many aspects involved in the division of fields, land and houses, the provision of seeds and grain, the provision of ploughing cattle, the establishment of the most basic medical system, the establishment of the education system, etc., and there is no place where money is not needed and no investment is required. A large amount of wealth from the gentry of Jiangnan and the former Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty and the city flowed away from Zhou Shixiang's hands like flowing water, but he could not close his fingers, but opened his fingers wider to make the "money" flow faster.

The current Daming is like a giant who has lost too much blood and urgently needs to replenish his blood. Population, obviously, is blood, and food is the main body that produces blood. Restoring the population and increasing food are national policies that the Dingwu Imperial Court, led by Zhou Shixiang, must address and pay attention to, at present and for a long time to come. In this way, when the Manchu Qing and Wu Sangui in the north were still there, under the premise that the provinces were in dilapidation, they did not want to restore the old capital of the Northern Expedition and pacify the war, but they wanted to go on an expedition overseas.

At the beginning, Zhou Shixiang decided to go on an expedition to Annam because Annam was on the border of the Ming Dynasty, and his country had a large amount of rice to plunder, which could alleviate the grain shortage in Liangguang. And the Guangdong naval division of the Taiping Army can suppress and eliminate the small number of naval divisions in Annam, and the troops stationed in its country do not need too much, and more importantly, there are a large number of Han people in Annam, and these Han people can provide manpower and material resources for the expeditionary force of the Taiping Army, so that the expeditionary force can take root in Annam. In addition, there were several hostile forces in Annam, which allowed the Taiping army to draw one side over the other through vertical and horizontal means, and dilute Annam's hatred of the invasion of the "Wu people".

Under all kinds of means, Zhao Ziqiang, the governor of the expeditionary army, was able to become the emperor in Annan. If it were not for these favorable conditions for the expeditionary force, perhaps the current Zhao Ziqiang would have had to face the scene encountered by the Ming army during the Yongle Dynasty - all the people were soldiers and all the people resisted, so he fell into the sea of war of the people of Annam, and finally had to withdraw from the quagmire of Annam.

Expedition to Luzon, apparently, did not have these conditions. The number of Chinese in places such as Luzon was scarce enough for the expeditionary force to gain a foothold there. Moreover, the Spaniards were not Annamite, and he did not have several governors to attack each other, so he could not get the Taiping army to reap the benefits of fishermen. At the same time, the naval power of the Spaniards should not be underestimated, they have colonized Luzon and other places for nearly a hundred years, and the results of the expedition are likely to take a long time, or even a war from which there will be no return.

The economic interests of occupying Luzon and controlling Southeast Asia were indeed great, but Zhou Shixiang was able to bear a large amount of manpower, material resources, money and grain consumption, and even more had to emigrate from the country in large numbers, so that the number of Han Chinese in some key places was enough to suppress the local natives. But no matter what is done, the expedition to Luzon is not worth the loss at the moment. Winning this war, driving out the Westerners, taking control of the sea lanes in Southeast Asia, and gaining a head start for China's future development is certainly a good thing, but it will not be possible in one or two years, at least 10, 20, or even 30 or 40 years.

The more places the Taiping army occupied in Southeast Asia, the more garrisons were needed. The greater the results of the battle, the longer the battle line, when the time comes, forts must be set up everywhere to send troops, everywhere must be guarded against operations, the end will inevitably be like a high-rise building suddenly rising from the ground, but the foundation is unstable, and the upstairs is also full of cracks and leaks. If we want to solve this problem, we must first solve the problem of domestic - to restore the increase in population, so that in the future, we can continue to move new immigrants overseas, and use time to make overseas truly become China's land.

Under all kinds of considerations, Zhou Shixiang dispelled the idea of an expedition to Luzon, which sounded good, and it was okay to grit his teeth and force it with his personal prestige, but the risk and cost were too great. If you really want to do this, you must at least solve the Manchu Qing and Wu Sangui before you can start it.

Zhou Shixiang doesn't know how long he can live, he is 32 years old this year, but the average life expectancy in this era is less than 30 years.

Maybe he might die a few years later as young as Zheng Sen, or maybe he would live to be 50, 60, or even 80. But how long they will live, who knows. Just like before he came to this era, he never thought that he would have such a time and space adventure in the future.

It's going to rain, my mother is going to get married, so I don't care about him.

People can't be ambitious, they have to be down-to-earth. It is the wisest choice to take one step at a time, and to take the step in front of you first.

Zhou Shixiang chose to solve the problem at home first, and then try to seek overseas, for this reason, he had to suppress the anger and impulse in his heart, but the massacre of the Han by the Spaniards made him unable to swallow this breath. If he doesn't do something, his heart will seem empty and uncomfortable.

But what to do?

Zhou Shixiang fell into deep thought, Zheng Xi and Huang Zhao found that King Qi suddenly remained silent, and they were all a little confused, not understanding what the young prince was thinking.

Gan Hui also had no way to guess, and some of Zheng Jun's civil and military forces were even wondering if it was the words of the feudal lord and Huang Zhao that made the King of Qi unhappy.

"King Qi, there is a priest named Li Corot in Siming, who has a connection with the Spanish governor of Luzon, and if the king of Qi wants to seek justice for the people of our country in Luzon, he can make this priest present his credentials to the Spaniards, condemn him for his crime of killing and plundering his country, and strictly order him to change his evil ways and pay tribute."

It was Liu Guoxuan who spoke. Hearing this, Zhou Shixiang's heart moved, since he could not solve this matter at the military level, he could only retreat to the second best thing and put pressure on the Spaniards at the diplomatic level. But if this is done, will things be like the one in the Wanli period, when the Spaniards once again took their anger out on the Chinese and carried out the fourth massacre?

Diplomacy is a gesture, a means of declaring the attitude of the other side, but it cannot determine whether the other side is willing to listen or not. If you want the other side to know the consequences, feel the real danger, and thus compromise, it is also a demonstration of military strength. Showing the strength to cross the sea and come to seek relief for the Chinese who died.

The expedition to Luzon cannot, but the killing of chickens and monkeys can.

The monkeys are naturally Spaniards, chickens and, of course, the Dutch across the Channel.

Zheng Sen in his previous life was able to capture Taiwan and drive out the Dutch after his defeat in Nandu, why can't I do it?

Even if he did not mean to kill chickens and monkeys, Zhou Shixiang was determined to recover Taiwan, because the Dutch really failed to find out the truth about the Chinese mainland, and they foolishly signed a contract with the Manchu Qing who were about to finish.

Zhou Shixiang didn't understand how the Manchus got on the line with the Dutch, and the Manchus in his impression were not so good at dealing with the "world". But whether it is this, whether it is the Manchus or the Dutch, this is the enemy he wants to solve. Now that the two enemies are hooked up, it's time to clean up.

Zhou Shixiang did not tell Zheng Xi and others about the idea of sending troops to recover Taiwan, because Zheng Jing had not yet been resolved. He took Liu Guoxuan's suggestion and sent someone to find the Western priest named Li Coro, and through him he presented his credentials to the Spaniards. At the same time, he ordered the Military Intelligence Department to send personnel to Luzon to make contact with the local Chinese and reconnoiter the military strength of the Spaniards and the situation in the ports where they were stationed. If necessary, the leaders of the Chinese clans in Luzon and other places could be given the official position of Ming Dynasty, and firearms could be secretly sent to them to help the Chinese in Southeast Asia build up a military force, so that they could protect themselves in the face of white oppression and slaughter again.

In addition, Zhou Shixiang informed the Chinese in Southeast Asia in the name of Emperor Dingwu that the Ming court had never regarded them as untouchables, and that overseas Chinese were all Ming people who were protected by the Ming court, and that the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty were also open to them. This means that from now on, all overseas Chinese can return to China to participate in the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty, and they can become officials of the Ming Dynasty after the middle examination. This measure is more effective than any other means, and it can make overseas Chinese have a pure heart for the Ming Dynasty, and it can also make them feel that they are the people of the Ming Dynasty, not overseas untouchables.

After settling Zheng Jing and recovering Taiwan, although it was impossible for Zhou Shixiang to form an expeditionary force to crusade against Luzon, he signaled that Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong could provide military escort and armed forces for maritime merchants. In other words, before the imperial court could reach out to Southeast Asia, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty could play the role of pioneers.

The "Book of Confessions to Zheng Jing" was sent to Siming Zheng Jing by Gan Hui himself.