"If you are loyal to the old master, you can abandon the overall situation of resisting the Qing Dynasty, you can violate the orders of the imperial court, you can use it for your own purposes, and you can use it as the reason for the separation? Brother Lu, there has been an invitation to return to the vassal before. As a stay at the imperial court, I will grant his request on behalf of the imperial court, and after a while, I will send someone to inform the king of Yanping County, and go to Kinmen to welcome back the king......"

One by one, the long columns of waves rolled out, roaring and rushing all the way to the foot of the island, splattering countless foams. The tide rose higher and higher, flooding the sand reef. The wind blew tighter and tighter, and the waves stood angrily.

Zhang Huangyan pondered the letters of Min Shizi, who was left behind in the imperial court, brought back by the envoy, and his mood also fluctuated with this wave, sometimes surging, sometimes low, and sometimes breaking into a pile of foam.

The situation in Yunnan Province improved again, western Yunnan was recovered, Yuanjiang repelled Wu Sangui, forced the pressure with momentum, and obtained the sea mouth without a fight, and the external channel was completely opened...... Zhang Huangyan was pleasantly surprised and excited, but the edict of the prince of Min Shizi who stayed behind ordered all non-Zheng forces on the southeast coast to move to the Beibu Gulf and rendezvous at Haiphong, Ha Long, and Cat Po Island, which made Zhang Huangyan feel confused and contradictory.

Originally, the situation in the southwest had changed, which meant that the situation of resisting the Qing Dynasty and the east and west echoed each other again, and the Qing court still did not get rid of the situation of fighting on two fronts. Although Zhang Huangyan's subordinates and the small armed forces that supported Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, were not strong, they had been supported by Zhang Huangyan and were not annexed by Zheng Chenggong, which was regarded as a force loyal to the Ming family in the southeast.

At the beginning, Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, recognized the orthodox status of Emperor Yongli, and sent an envoy to Shangshu to propose to abdicate and return to the vassal but was not allowed, that is, Emperor Yongli still let him stay on the southeast coast in order to maintain the influence of the Zhu Ming Dynasty on the southeast region. Now that Min Shizi intends to give up the southeast and concentrate on the Beibu Gulf area of the South China Sea, what is his intention?

Of course, it is not accurate to say that it is completely abandoned, and Zhu Yongxing hopes that the scattered armed forces in the southeast sea will leave only a small number of capable fighters on the islands where they are entrenched. If you can fight, you can fight, and if you can't fight, you can go, and be responsible for collecting, rescuing, and transporting people who have escaped from the Qing court's ruled areas.

Zhang Huangyan was opposed to Zhu Yongxing's plan to emigrate to occupy the Mekong Delta. In his opinion, Zhu Yongxing deliberately broke away from the front line of resistance against the Qing Dynasty, only for security reasons. Taking a foreign land as a place to settle down is a sign of unintentional regain of sight.

Zhang Huangyan believed that if efforts were made to seize and build foreign lands, the strength of the Ming army would inevitably be dispersed, which was completely contrary to the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. This is like in later generations, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, some troops shouted "anti-Japanese", but moved to a place where there were no Japanese to recuperate and recover.

It is not surprising that there are such views and thoughts, Zhang Huangyan when Zheng Chenggong was determined to recover Taiwan. It is also extremely disapproving, and there is disappointment everywhere. Because Zhang Huangyan is a man with lofty ideals who grew up under the influence of Confucianism, he has the spirit of doing his best and dying, but his disadvantage is that his vision is narrow, which is very different from Zhu Yongxing's focus and purpose.

There is another reason that makes Zhang Huangyan reluctant to leave the southeast coast, that is, Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu who lives in Kinmen. As a supporter and follower of King Lu. Zhang Huangyan's loyalty is undoubted, but this is inevitably indiscriminate. Suspicion of disobedience to the imperial court.

The envoy sent by Zhang Huangyan was naturally his cronies and knew his thoughts well, so the words "The old master is still in Jinmen, I am afraid that it is too far away, and the echo will not work" made Zhu Yongxing grasp the handle.

"Violating the orders of the imperial court", "selfishness", "for the reason of secession"...... These words deeply pierced Zhang Huangyan's heart. Orthodoxy is there. From his Confucian philosophy, it is natural to first worship the Yongli; However, Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, was indeed the old master, and he also made a move to establish the Zhoushan Islands as the center of anti-Qing armed activities in eastern Zhejiang. Therefore, Zhang Huangyan was anxious and wandering, and he could not afford the crime of "disobeying orders and separating himself from his own power". and reluctant to stay away from Zhu Yonghai, the king of Lu.

Smack, smack...... Several heavy raindrops fell on Zhang Huangyan's head and body, and the entourage not far away hurriedly stepped forward and opened an umbrella for him.

Zhang Huangyan seemed to have been suddenly woken up by the rain, his eyes were aggressive, and he turned around and walked away. The entourage followed closely, and when they arrived at the house, Zhang Huangyan's clothes were mostly wet. But Zhang Huangyan did not change his clothes, but spread out the paper, held the pen in his hand, and after a little groaning, he waved the book.

“…… Those who eavesdrop on big things are the first to be in the people; Those who establish great undertakings are especially advantageous in terms of location...... That is, such as His Royal Highness's battle in the southwest, it is said that Yunnan Province is enough to start a business and open a foundation, but it wants to settle the families of the generals and the people who have flowed out, and they are dedicated to foreign places. However, since ancient times, it has not been heard of before the Central Plains...... The ancients said: It is better to die an inch than to retreat a foot to live. So that His Royal Highness is dying overseas, it is inevitable that it will be a regression, if you return to Siming as soon as possible, don't try to make progress! Fu Siming, the root is also; Exotics, branches and leaves. No thought, is there no root, can there be branches and leaves? ”

Zhang Huangyan stretched out his hand to block the dry clothes handed over by his entourage, dipped them in ink, and continued to write: "Nine thousand and one short, Your Highness would rather not love yourself? Since a certain advocate broke the family, hatred is weak, and Hu Huiming cannot be destroyed. Fortunately, His Royal Highness was angry, and the sun and the moon were restored, and the mountains and rivers were destroyed and restored. A certain person has to return to his hometown, and it is enough to wish. It is the resources of His Highness that can be done, and if it is, then what will it rely on. Therefore, I dare not keep silent and sit back and watch the victory or defeat. ”

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Huangyan wrote again: "Gu Dongnan is noble, ignorant of the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, it is difficult to respect the ancestors, be generous to the heavens, and mourn the king and grandson and eat." But what is the matter of my generation, and the relatives and vassals are displaced...... However, the words are so intense, they touch the majesty, they ignore the taboos, and the crime is really difficult to reckless. I hope that His Royal Highness will bow down and accept it, and it will be beneficial to the country, and there will be no hatred even if he dies. Sincerely. ”

With a long breath, Zhang Huangyan put down his pen and wrote the letter in one go. After checking it twice and making sure that it was correct, he slowly sat back in his chair, his face changing.

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

In order to maintain the influence of the Zhu Ming Dynasty on the southeast region, Emperor Yongli put Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, there. But this is actually of no practical significance, the anti-Qing strength on the southeast coast is basically controlled by Zheng Chenggong, and those scattered armed forces who obey King Lu cannot get the support of Zheng Chenggong, and they have nothing to do at all, and can only be exhausted in the slow consumption.

Zhu Yongxing temporarily abandoned the southeast coast, in addition to winning over Zhang Huangyan and the scattered armed forces on the sea, and gathering more naval forces to measure the sea surface of Liangguang. He also has his own wise understanding, knowing that Zheng Chenggong and Li Dingguo are not the same kind of people.

Zheng Chenggong's consistent thought is that "I am the government of the southeast", and he does not serve the Lu Jianguo, which is close at hand, but serves Yongli from afar. It is not because Zhu Youlang is close to the imperial family in blood, but because he appreciates the status of "the emperor is far away". "The commander-in-chief and below are all self-appointed, such as dukes, marquis, uncles and admirals, and the compulsory form is sealed, and then the seal is issued." The so-called "revise the table and ask for a seal, and then issue a seal" is just a formality. It is equivalent to writing a report with the left hand, approving with the right hand, and Enwei is self-controlled, how happy.

Of course, in addition to respecting the emperor, Zheng Chenggong also sincerely hopes that the Yongli Imperial Court can survive. In this way, it can not only attract the support of the southeastern restoration force in the name of the imperial court, but also use the support of the Yongli imperial court to contain a considerable part of the main force of the Qing army in the southwest. It's just that his wishful thinking in history was too fine, and it backfired.

After the defeat of the Southwest. The Qing court concentrated its efforts on dealing with the Zheng army. Zheng Chenggong was self-defeating, and the remorse in his heart can be imagined. His strength was not enough to openly compete with the Qing court as the heir of Emperor Longwu in the Central Plains, so he had to continue to hang the Yongli signboard without Emperor Yongli, in a remote corner. Caught in such an embarrassing situation, he had to drink the bitter wine he had brewed.

Because, for the people who have restored the Ming Dynasty, they have been disheartened since the fall of the Yongli court, and a very small number of official gentry and clans who went to Taiwan with Zheng Chenggong just used this to keep their ancestors. Almost no one regarded the Zheng group, which was still under the name of Yongli, as a hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty.

Since Zhu Yongxing knew that the order of the Zheng Group was not moved, he also calmed down. Treat it as an ally against the Qing Dynasty. As long as Zheng Chenggong was still fighting against the Qing court, the containment in the southeast was of great importance to the overall situation of the entire anti-Qing resistance and could not be ignored. Therefore, he will not make the mistakes that Zheng Chenggong once made.

As for Zhang Huangyan and the anti-Qing forces with King Lu as the old master, Zhu Yongxing also had his own ideas, and the letter talked about taking King Lu out of Jinmen. But it was not his false words and deception, but his persuasion to convince people's hearts. Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, no longer has the strength to compete for the throne, and was placed under house arrest by Zheng Chenggong in Kinmen, and his health is not good, which can be said to have exhausted his mind. If you don't have the ambition of the past, what is there to fear?

It's better to come, not to come. Zhu Yongxing didn't think that if he asked for a soft word, it would have another effect. At this time, he did not think about how many people would come to work, but made the most difficult arrangements for Langshan, Ma Bao and others to enter Guangxi.

Eat as much as you have an appetite; How much strength there is, take action accordingly. This is a characteristic of Zhu Yongxing, perhaps cautious, but it is the only way to ensure success.

Make a plan based on the amount of strength you actually have, and don't take into account your own uncertain factors. Li Dingguo attacked Guangdong twice and lost his troops because he believed too much in Zheng Chenggong's promise and included the uncertain reinforcement plan. Zhu Yongxing remembers this lesson clearly.

"We must fight steadily and steadily, strive to occupy one place, consolidate one place, recruit and expand troops, and increase our strength." Zhu Yongxing flipped through the plans formulated by Ma Bao and others, and did not forget to reiterate the overall strategy of forging ahead in Guangxi, "not to attack cities and seize land, but to destroy the enemy's vital force." Attracting the enemy to attack, our army can occupy a certain advantage, at a favorable time and in a favorable place, or hold on to thwart the enemy, or lure the enemy to penetrate deep and annihilate him. ”

Ruyang Wang Ma Bao, He Jiuyi and other generals nodded again and again, and when they saw that Zhu Yongxing only reiterated the strategy, but did not revise the battle plan, they were even more relieved. The troops are almost in place, and if they are readjusted, they will be time-consuming and will miss the opportunity to fight in the future.

"After five days, let's get moving!" Zhu Yongxing finally drew up the battle plan, patted it lightly with his hand, and said with a smile: "In the future, the battle will depend on you to make decisions on the spot, the battlefield situation is changing, I can't grasp it at any time, so I won't point fingers and blindly command." ”

"Your Highness is serious." Ma Bao, the king of Ruyang, hurriedly complimented: "Our eyes are limited, how can we look at the overall situation better than Your Highness, and hope that Your Highness will give more instructions, so as not to make mistakes." ”

Zhu Yongxing waved his hand and said, "This is a humble word, I naturally know the way." I am very relieved of your abilities, and I can seize the fighter as much as I can, and there is no need to delay and hesitate. Well, I'll do a good job of raising supplies in the rear to help you. ”

"With His Royal Highness raising supplies, our army has no worries, and this battle will be won."

Zhu Yongxing smiled and nodded, focusing on the two people wearing the epaulettes of the midship. Although the official positions of the two are not high, they are graduates of the first phase of the martial arts hall, and they are graduates of the artillery department, and they are talents who are very valued in the army. Moreover, these two people can also be regarded as Zhu Yongxing's students. Even Ma Bao didn't dare to despise it.

"The Franc cannon has the advantage of being fast, and it has a longer range than muskets and bows, so it can exert its due power against the charging enemy." Zhu Yongxing stretched out his hand and nodded at these two people, "Chen Daobo, Zhang Nan, about this." Can you two master it completely? ”

"Your Highness." The two didn't expect Zhu Yongxing to remember their names, so they immediately stood up excitedly, stood up and saluted, and glanced at each other, Chen Daobo replied loudly: "The firing range and scattering width of the Franc cannon have been experimentally calculated, and we have also shot them, so they can be regarded as basically mastered." ”

"Have you ever rehearsed for the generals and explained them in detail?" Zhu Yongxing asked. After receiving a negative answer, he shook his head and smiled: "That's wrong." The generals do not know the characteristics of the new weapons, how to arrange the troops, how to command correctly, in order to achieve maximum power? Now that the military discussion is over, it is better to go to the drill now and congratulate Guangxi with the sound of artillery. ”

"It is a blessing for us to personally guide Your Highness." Ma Bao, the king of Ruyang, got up with a smile. ordered Chen Daobo and Zhang Nan to go to arrange the preparations immediately, and he led the generals to accompany Zhu Yongxing outside. Then everyone got on their horses and headed for the schoolyard.

As a traverser, Zhu Yongxing attaches great importance to the role of artillery in warfare. Despite the existence of the Sky Bombardment Cannon and the Sky Mighty Cannon, both of them belong to curved mortar guns and lack direct-fire artillery. As for a bulky guy like the Hongyi Cannon, Zhu Yongxing felt that it was inconvenient to move with the army. And not suitable for field combat.

Considering factors such as the rate of fire, power, portability, and difficulty of imitation, Zhu Yongxing finally chose the Franco cannon, and it was a small and medium-sized gun of less than 500 catties. In terms of rate of fire, a skilled gunner can fire every ten seconds; The firing range can reach more than two hundred meters, which makes up for the lack of muskets and bows and arrows; Shoot shotguns. The dispersion width can reach more than ten meters, which can be described as a sharp weapon to restrain the charge of cavalry and dense infantry.

Moreover, the Franc cannon is different from artillery such as the Hongyi cannon, and the barrel is fully enclosed, which is very difficult to manufacture. Although the range of the Franc cannon was affected by the breath-holding of the gun, it made it easy to imitate.

Of the 10 Furang cannons distributed to the Ming army in Guangxi, Zhu Yongxing imported a total of 13 from overseas, and the other three remained in the arsenal for reference in imitation. Each Franc cannon is equipped with seven guns, weighing more than 400 catties, and a gun truck is specially built for transportation and combat.

Artillery carriage? When he came to the training site, Zhu Yongxing found that the gun truck had been disassembled, the artillery was preparing to be fired, and a group of soldiers were busy arranging wooden and grass targets within the firing range.

"Put the gun carriage back together." Zhu Yongxing didn't just want to test fire the artillery, there was his creativity in the design of the gun carriage, and he had to start from the beginning so that everyone could know the magic of it.

This is not to blame Zhu Yongxing, he has been outside for almost a month, and it is the first time he has seen the gun car built, so he has no chance to explain the truth in detail.

The planks around the gun carriage were reinserted, the one facing the front was thick and covered with quilts and cowhide, and an arched gap in the middle was reserved for the artillery to fire and watch ahead, and the arched gap could also be blocked by another door-like plank. What is puzzling is that the thick wooden planks that serve as shields are also distributed with round holes the thickness of the cups.

Zhu Yongxing led the generals to take a look around the artillery carriage first, and then smiled and commanded a few artillery soldiers to take off the spears under the artillery carriage and insert them into those round holes.

"It turns out that it also has the function of a partial van, which can form a formation and block the enemy." He Jiuyi suddenly smiled and said: "Your Highness's ingenuity, the last general will admire." ”

Zhu Yongxing was accustomed to hearing compliments, smiled on his face, and asked the soldiers to block the muzzle of the gun, and the generals stood in front of the gun carriage, pointing and saying: "In the eyes of the enemy, it looks like a side car, how do you know that there is a cannon behind it?" After approaching the enemy, remove the baffle and the artillery bombarded—" He turned to Chen Daobo and Zhang Nan and asked, "What is the current rate of fire?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, now you can reach three breaths and one shot." Zhang Nan bowed and replied.

In ancient times, the unit of time was not divided in detail, usually until the "carving", Zhu Yongxing sent someone to use an hourglass to divide the time unit below the carving. One moment is three teas, one tea is two pillars of incense, one pillar of incense has five points, one is divided into ten breaths, and one breath is equivalent to four or five seconds in the later life.

One shot in more than ten seconds, although it is not the fastest record in history, it is still a very high rate of fire, and there is still room for improvement.

Zhu Yongxing nodded, said "continue to work hard", and continued to explain the use of this artillery carriage, "First show the enemy in the form of a partial van, and when the enemy comes to attack, put the enemy within the firing range, and then several artillery shots, the enemy will be confused, and our army can take the opportunity to counterattack; If the enemy is defending in formation, our army can also push the cart to advance slowly, making the illusion of charging into the formation, and when the enemy is close, it will also bombard him, and the enemy formation will be in chaos, and he can take advantage of the situation to rush and kill. ”

His Royal Highness Min is really insidious enough, Ma Bao and the others are not only complimentary, but they can't help but feel sad for the enemy in their hearts. If it is the first confrontation, the enemy does not know the details, and he must suffer a big loss.

"It is necessary to train not only to increase the rate of fire, but also how to quickly remove the shutter and quickly fire artillery." Zhu Yongxing gave a word of advice to the two artillery officers and ordered the test firing to begin.

There was not much time, and the training ground was filled with the rumbling of artillery, smoke rising, and grass and wooden targets being shattered by the flying projectiles.

……………… (To be continued......)